Business Report: Gateway Project, Camden transportation center, green economy, PPE discounts

A roadblock holding up work on the Gateway Project has been lifted. The Biden administration will allow state governments to use federal loans to pay their share of the $13 billion project, reversing a policy set by the Trump administration. Gov. Phil Murphy says New Jersey can make up for lost time and get the program and the thousands of jobs it will produce back on track.

In South Jersey on Wednesday, the governor announced a proposed $250 million revamp of the outdated Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden. The goal is to update and enlarge the facility to better serve commuters.

The Murphy administration plans to form what’s being called the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy, which will make recommendations on sustainable economic development. Business leaders and environmentalists will have their say in the process. One of the council’s big goals is to create some much-needed new jobs.

State tax collections got a boost from holiday shopping. The January revenue numbers released by the state show that sales-tax collections rose 5% in December. Year-to-date sales tax revenue is running ahead of projections, but income tax and corporate business tax collections so far this fiscal year are below last year’s numbers.

Small businesses can once again get help paying for PPE. Businesses with 100 or fewer employees are able to apply to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s PPE program, which offers discounts of nearly 70%.

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