First and foremost, state officials should cut taxes or just generally make it less expensive to live in New Jersey, according to results of a new survey of business executives released Monday.
The Baker Tilly-New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Spring 2015 Economic Outlook Survey showed that about one in three of the business executives polled see the state's high cost of living in general, including its taxes, as the biggest obstacle to a "full-blown" economic recovery in New Jersey.
At the same time, the executives surveyed appeared increasingly optimistic about the state's economy.
The survey, conducted in May and June, included responses from 100 executives at New Jersey-based firms asked to identify problems they believe leaders should address. The firms were from a range of industries, and most had fewer than 50 employees.
Results showed 28 percent felt that fixing the state's roads, bridges and mass transit was most important.
Two issues tied as the third most pressing problems: Cutting government red tape and fixing the public pension system.
Fourteen percent of the respondents indicated they were thinking about moving their businesses out of the state, with most citing high costs as the reason, the chamber said.
Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said New Jersey-based corporations pay a tax rate that is "one of the highest in the country."
Still, 42 percent of the executives said they expect the state economy to improve over the next 12 months, up from 35 percent one year ago, while 16 percent expect it to worsen, down from 26 percent a year ago.
A large majority of the executives, 82 percent, expect their companies to either maintain or increase staff over the next 12 months, and more than three quarters expect their revenue to increase or remain unchanged.
"There are many rewards to running a business in New Jersey, including a well-educated workforce, a second-to-none location between New York and Philadelphia, and a consumer base with one of the nation's highest household incomes," said Bob Fodera, a partner at Chicago-based Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP.