Fighting Back Against the Financial Transaction Tax Helps Bring Jobs & Keep Jobs in Jersey  

Above: Gottheimer at groundbreaking for Nasdaq’s new state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure and data center facility in New Jersey.

CARTERET, NJ — Today, May 3, 2022, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) joined state and local elected officials and labor leaders to celebrate the ceremonial groundbreaking of Nasdaq’s new state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure and data center facility in New Jersey.

The expansion will double the size of Nasdaq’s existing facility in Carteret — a big win for New Jersey’s economy, jobs, and families — including thousands of jobs for the community and hardworking men and women of labor.

Gottheimer was instrumental in fighting back against the State of New Jersey’s proposed Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), and also the proposed federal FTT in Washington — which he helped successfully stop last Congress. The FTT would have imposed a tax on firms that process large quantities of stock trades and financial transactions through all the electronic infrastructure located in New Jersey. If implemented, the proposed FTT would have forced financial sector businesses out of New Jersey, resulting in economic downturn, a loss of thousands of good-paying jobs, businesses shutting down in the surrounding area, and a loss of jobs for the hardworking men and women of labor. 

“Since coming to Congress, where I serve on the House Financial Services Committee, I’ve worked to ensure that our businesses and jobs can stay in New Jersey and grow here and keep providing the hundreds and thousands of jobs our families rely on. This includes fighting back not only against the state’s Financial Transaction Tax, but also the proposed federal one in Washington, too — which we successfully stopped last Congress,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Today is a day to celebrate Jersey’s economic growth and future successes. With the right policies in place, given all we have going for us in our great state, from our schools and talented workforce, to the lakes and beaches, to our pizza, bagels, and Bruce Springsteen, there is no better state to do business than New Jersey.”

Gottheimer has been fighting to lower taxes for hard-working families and businesses, including reinstating SALT, and to cut the red tape that is restricting New Jersey’s full potential — to attract jobs and get more money into the pockets of families, so they can afford to work, live, and stay here in Jersey.

In recent years, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis found that every singular dollar spent on financial securities services in New Jersey contributes one dollar and twenty-two cents to the state economy. The securities sector employs more than 38,000 workers throughout the state. In total, the financial services sector employs nearly 200,000 total New Jersey workers.

The new Nasdaq facility will help bring markets to the cloud with AWS and Equinix.

Gottheimer was joined by local and state elected officials and labor leaders including NJ Assembly Deputy Majority Leader and VP Electrical Workers New Jersey State Building & Construction Trades Council Joseph Egan, New Jersey State Building & Construction Trades Council William Mullen, Middlesex County Building & Construction Trades Council President Kevin Duncan, Business Agent for the Middlesex County Area of Local 9 Jack Hoey, Nasdaq President & CEO Adena Friedman, Nasdaq North American Markets EVP Tal Cohen, Equinix President & CEO Charles Meyers, and AWS Worldwide Financial Services General Manager Scott Mullins.

Video of the groundbreaking can be found here.

Below: Gottheimer with state and local labor leaders.

Below: Gottheimer at groundbreaking for Nasdaq’s new state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure and data center facility in New Jersey 

Gottheimer’s remarks as prepared for delivery: 

Good morning everyone. I’m honored to be with all of you in Carteret and in Middlesex County, with all of our phenomenal labor leaders to celebrate the ceremonial groundbreaking of Nasdaq’s new state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure and data center facility — a very big win for New Jersey. A big win for our economy, for jobs, and for our families – including thousands of jobs for the hardworking men and women of labor.  

Nasdaq, Equinix, AWS, and the markets have been incredible partners to New Jersey, and to the region, and I can’t thank them enough for continuing to do business here and supporting our communities.

The greater New Jersey area is the financial capital of the entire world. Twenty percent of the nation’s GDP runs through here. The financial sector is not only key to our region’s economy; it is literally the engine behind the global economy. Nearly every transaction, the veins and arteries of our global economy, in one way or another, runs through here.

Yet, two years ago, honestly we almost blew it. I remember standing in my district, in Mahwah, with hundreds of hard-working men and women from the building trades, when some in our state wanted to add a tax to every financial transaction that runs through the data centers across Jersey. The buildings that labor built and maintained and that were key to the northeast’s dominance in the financial sector – and all of the jobs located near the data centers. If it had passed, it would have meant the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs our families rely on. 

To stay competitive globally, companies like Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange would have had to shutter their doors here and move centers like this one to other states. They already have back up centers in Illinois. They could have literally flipped a switch, and poof, Jersey would have lost our data centers and all the jobs. It would have gutted New Jersey’s pole position in the financial sector.  

But, we all stood together, as one voice — labor, business, and local, state, and federal officials — and if we worked together we could have stopped the financial transaction tax — and stopped the jobs and centers from moving out of Jersey to other states like moocher states. And today, the result of our efforts — we’re here for a ground breaking of an expanded Nasdaq state-of-the-art data center. More jobs. More Jersey leadership. 

Since coming to Congress, where I serve on the House Financial Services Committee, I’ve worked to ensure that our businesses and jobs can stay in New Jersey and grow here and keep providing the hundreds and thousands of jobs our families rely on. This includes fighting back against not only against the state’s Financial Transaction Tax, but also the proposed federal one in Washington, too — which we successfully stopped last Congress. 

This proposed tax, which the state has claimed will raise new revenue for the state by taxing stock trades processed through all of Jersey’s electronic infrastructure, won’t actually produce new tax revenue. 

Why? Because as soon as the state imposes it, the back-end of the markets and all the banks that have a presence here, will move, in unison, to a new location out-of-state. 

And if businesses and banks decide to move away, that’s exactly what would have happened they would have moved out, it would have hurt businesses up and down the line. It’s not just the data center jobs, it’s all the jobs around here that will grow and flourish. Once this is up and running more businesses will want to be around it. Not just in the financial services sector, think of all the other jobs in dry cleaning, restaurants, teachers, shopping center, all these jobs will come up.

Let’s remember to stand against the financial transaction tax if it comes up again, lets make sure we focus on lower taxes in Jersey, make life more affordable, restore SALT and all the other things we can do to make things more affordable for our families. Especially now, getting the money to where it belongs in the pockets of the people we represent.

In recent years, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis found that every singular dollar spent on financial securities services in New Jersey contributes one dollar and twenty-two cents to the state economy. The securities sector employs more than 38,000 workers throughout the state. In total, the financial services sector employs nearly 200,000 total New Jersey workers.

This expansion will double the size of Nasdaq’s existing facility here, which will mean more job. With the right policies in place, there’s nothing that can stop us in this great state given all that we have going for us

To close, today is a day to celebrate Jersey’s economic growth and future successes. With the right policies in place, given all we have going for us in our great state, from our lakes and beaches, to our talented workforce, to the lakes and beaches, to our pizza, bagels, and Bruce Springsteen, there is no better state to do business than New Jersey.

So bring more jobs.

I’m confident that by working together at every level of government, in the greatest country in the world, there is no stopping us.

Thank you. God bless you.

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