New Jersey carries $10.1B surplus into new fiscal year

New Jersey will be $10.1 billion richer in the next fiscal year as the state projected it will carry about 25 percent of its total budget into fiscal 2022.

This surplus marks a $4 billion increase from what the state last projected in February. 

“Thanks to a remarkable two-month revenue collection surge – an April and May ‘surprise’ like no other – state tax collections in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) are hitting historic highs,” State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said in a written revenue update delivered to the Assembly Budget Committee on Thursday.

Muoio attributed the gains to the coronavirus relief stimulus packages passed in December 2020 and March 2021, speedy vaccine development and distribution, and stock market gains. 

“We are pleased to be able to deliver such good news for the State of New Jersey after what has been, at best, an unpredictable year, and at times a devastating year for so many,” Muoio said. 

The story was initially reported by NJ Spotlight News.

Though it’s not immediately clear what the surplus will be directed toward, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) spokesperson Alyana Alfaro Post told The Hill in an email that the governor’s budget “will ensure we properly invest in our public education system, reduce the burden of health care costs, and provide additional tax cuts to New Jersey’s growing middle class.”

Updated at 8:14 p.m.