Payroll tax data sharing MOU with the State
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.
- What: resolution (item 10.2) approving an MOU with the State Division of Taxation to share payroll and employee data on active Jersey City businesses each quarter.
- Why: the state authorized the city payroll tax in 2018 but never provided data to enforce it.
Caucus discussion (October 19)
- Smith (mayor's office) said collections are in the $70 millions this year, on track to beat last year's $84 million.
- Staff from internal audit moved to the tax collector's office. A contractor-registration ordinance drove many new registrations this year.
- Council members asked for baseline counts of registered businesses and revenue for the past several years.
Council meeting (October 21)
- Resolution (item 10.2) was adopted 9-0. Singh first said she would vote yes on all but 10.2, then confirmed yes on all, saying many businesses still do not pay the payroll tax and hoping the data will help register more.
Sources
- 2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus (video of the October 19 caucus, auto-captions)
- 2026-10-21 - Municipal Council (video of the October 21 regular meeting, auto-captions)
- https://cityofjerseycity.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=374 (October 21 regular meeting agenda)
Discussion time
About 6 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 - Municipal Council | 1 |
| 2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus | 5 |
Log
- 2026-10-21 - Municipal Council - Adopted 9-0.
- 2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus - Caucus: MOU explained; council requested registration and revenue history.