Bill > A2698

Introduced Session

This bill provides STEM graduate retention tax credits under the corporation business tax and the gross income tax for certain employers who pay certain employee's education loan debt. Employer's may receive the credit for paying up to $5,000 per year for each employee who graduated from a New Jersey public institutions of higher Education, holds a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM), and lives and works in this State. As the New Jersey Business & Industry Association has reported in one of its outmigration studies, of all the age groups in New Jersey that experienced a net loss in population from 2007 to 2014, the highest rate was among people between the ages of 18 and 34. That brain drain hurts the overall New Jersey economy and makes it harder for the State to attract the type of companies that rely on young, skilled workers. This bill aims to retain STEM graduates from New Jersey public institutions of higher Education, degree holders in in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics, in this State. The bill directs the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to recruit and certify STEM graduates whose talents and dedication indicate that they will be long-term contributors to the local economy. This bill encourages their retention in New Jersey employment by providing their employers with corporation business tax and gross income tax credits for helping them retire their tuition debt.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Michele Matsikoudis (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (on 02/14/2022)

Official Document