NJ Businesses Escape $300M Tax Hike For Now [AUDIO]

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed into law a bill that will help businesses avoid a pending tax increase.

The bi-partisan measure eliminates a 10-percent surcharge on New Jersey employer unemployment insurance taxes during fiscal year 2014.

This will avert a $300 million payroll tax increase, according to the Office of Legislative Services. It will save employers approximately $150 per worker.

"This will save employers $300 million during this fiscal year, allowing them at this difficult time to focus on creating jobs and economic development for our state and its workers," says Assemblyman Tim Eustace, one of the bill's sponsors. "Creating a good environment for job creation in New Jersey is a top priority, and this is essential ingredient to accomplish that goal."

Under former law, employers would have been hit with a 10 percent surcharge on July 1, but the change reduces the tax burden on employers by preventing the surcharge from taking effect in fiscal year 2014, which started yesterday. As things stand now, the tax increase will take effect on July 1, 2015.

"What it does is, yes, kick the ball down the road a little bit, but I think the economy is slowly growing so we'll be in a better position to look at this once again," says Eustace. "This puts people back to work, gets money back into the economy and allows small businesses to grow much more successfully."

The legislation is also sponsored by Assembly Democrats, Troy Singleton, Connie Wagner, Joe Egan and Craig Coughlin. On the GOP side it is sponsored by Steve Oroho in the Senate and Alison Littell-McHose in the Assembly.

"The new law will keep the momentum of the job-creating atmosphere that New Jersey has experienced over the last three years," says McHose. "Our unemployment rate has dropped significantly over the last three months, nearly 150,000 private sector jobs have been created since Governor Christie came into office and the business community is optimistic we are headed in the right direction."