A new report finds New Jersey has the least competitive business climate of any state in the region.

Michele Siekerka, the president and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, says the 2020 Business Climate Analysis shows New Jersey is dead last when considering top income tax rate, corporate tax rate, sales tax, property tax and other business costs.

Delaware had the most competitive business climate followed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and then New Jersey.

The analysis shows that New Jersey has the highest top income tax rate (10.75%), top corporate tax (10.5%), state sales tax (6.625%) and property taxes paid as a percentage of income (5.05%).

"This is the third time that we’ve conducted this analysis and each time we become less and less competitive, so an extreme takeaway is it’s time for reform in the state of New Jersey," she said.

Last week, a coalition of progressive groups called for raising the taxes on the most wealthy in the state, arguing that higher taxes would not cause an exodus from New Jersey.

But Siekerka said that with more and more people struggling just to make ends meet “it is incredible that we continue to talk about increasing taxes here in the state of New Jersey."

“The only way we’re going to turn around New Jersey’s affordability and regional competitiveness is to get a reform agenda going and to get it going now.”

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