"Atlantic City Urban Enterprise Zone and Property Tax Relief Act"; creates urban enterprise zone in Atlantic City for 10 years.
Summary
A4787, titled the "Atlantic City Urban Enterprise Zone and Property Tax Relief Act," would create a new Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) in Atlantic City for a 10-year period. The bill amends New Jersey’s UEZ statutes to add Atlantic City as the 33rd zone in the program and provides that the new zone must be designated within 90 days after the city submits an application and zone development plan. It also defines Atlantic City as the municipality eligible for this special designation and sets out how sales tax benefits and UEZ funding would operate during the zone’s term.
Under the bill, qualifying retail businesses in the Atlantic City zone would be able to charge a 50 percent reduced sales tax on eligible retail sales, consistent with the UEZ program. The bill also creates a special revenue split for the tax collected in the zone: for the first five years, all of the sales tax revenue from covered sales would be directed to Atlantic City’s UEZ account, and for the final five years, a majority would still go to the city while the remainder would go to the State General Fund. The bill specifies that the money in Atlantic City’s UEZ account must be used for local property tax relief, making this proposal both an economic development measure and a municipal tax-relief mechanism.
Impact
The bill would amend the Urban Enterprise Zones Act and related sales tax and UEZ assistance fund provisions to carve out a special Atlantic City zone with unique funding rules. It would expand the number of enterprise zones in effect from 32 to 33, authorize Atlantic City’s zone for 10 years, and create a dedicated use requirement for the city’s share of UEZ sales tax revenues. The measure would also alter the distribution of sales tax receipts from eligible sales in the Atlantic City zone, shifting revenue away from the General Fund during the early years and partially back to the State in later years, while directing the municipal share to property tax relief.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive of Atlantic City’s economic recovery and fiscal needs. The statement says it is intended to address negative economic conditions as the city transitions from a casino-centered economy to a broader tourism economy, suggesting a pro-development and pro-relief policy goal. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no recorded opposition or formal vote sentiment in the materials supplied.
Contention
The main policy tension is between local tax relief and state revenue retention. Supporters would likely emphasize the need to help Atlantic City stabilize its economy and reduce property tax pressure, while any critics may focus on the loss of sales tax revenue to the State General Fund and the creation of another special-purpose enterprise zone. Another possible point of contention is the bill’s targeted treatment of Atlantic City and its interaction with casino-related businesses, since casinos themselves are excluded from UEZ qualification even though some businesses on casino property may qualify if they meet the program’s criteria.