ahead of the governor's annual budget address next week Progressive groups are once again pushing the administration to deliver on affordability promises the way they see it a recently expired corporate business tax or CBT could do the trick it generates about a billion dollars a year and activists have been arguing for months the money could be used to plug budget holes but Governor Murphy isn't budging and business industry leaders point to data showing New Jersey had the fourth highest CBT in the telling senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan the real solution is to rein in spending people over profits progressives are ramping up political pressure as Trenton lawmakers confront building the next state budget they face lagging tax revenues expiring pandemic Aid and built-in deficits constraints that could throttle spending on programs these groups consider crucial for low and moderate income new jerseyans to survive let's not unlearn that lesson and go back to an austerity budget that means cuts and flat funding uh when families need help the most is it fair that we have to look at service Cuts throughout our state and local governments as a way to make ends meet no I don't think that's fair at all this Coalition called for the many says it's a matter of equity they want lawmakers to raise a billion dollars by restoring the 2 and a half% search charge on New Jersey CB t or corporate business tax that expired in December it impacted corporations making more than a million dollars in annual profits this is not a penalty on business it is asking those who make more to pay more that is fair that is Equitable that is what we need analysts call the upcoming spending plan a transitional budget and J transit's already announced a 15% Fair hike with 3% annual increases to follow potential Revenue raisers under discussion also include boosting New Jersey sales tax back to 7% it's sat at 6.625% since 2016 union leaders claim low-income families are already struggling with inflation and are now facing the Spectre of increasing sales taxes and other fees and tolls at a time when they can afford it the least but one New Jersey business group says don't raise taxes instead spend some of Jersey's $8 billion plus budget surplus it means you don't have to cut an important program or cut an important investment it means you don't have to increase taxes that will harm taxpayers the governor scheduled to deliver his budget message on Tuesday he's resisted reimposing a sear charge on the corporate business tax he's also said raising NJ Transit fairs is fair leading Democrats aren't all aboard with that though however nobody's yet rolled out a concrete plan to save NJ Transit from plunging off a fiscal cliff Senate President Nick scari says he's open to considering a CBT sech charge assembly speaker Craig Coughlin told chatbox host David Cruz he wants hard Revenue figures First Tax days is April April 15th we get the numbers in May and that gives you the real project that gives you real numbers about where we're at from there you make real projections the conversation should be not about what additional taxes we can raise but what kind of spending can we pair back and reduce assembly Republicans say Governor Murphy needs to make drastic spending cuts starting with the 1.4 billion added at the last moment to this year's record-breaking $ 55 billion budget absolute pork spending that should immediately just be this pull out before we even start talking about what the budget's going to be we should be producing that billion right out of the budget the next budget will be a heavy lift in Trenton I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight Spotlight news