No state income taxes. No corporate business tax. Companies have continually eyed Texas as a better place to do business than a state like New Jersey.
New Jersey, after all, has the highest corporate tax rate of all states, at 11.5%, reports the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
So on the evening of June 1, news broke that consumer electronics giant Samsung would be moving from its swanky 312,000-square-foot office space in Englewood Cliffs to Plano, Texas.
Samsung had moved into the space less than a year ago. Unilever — the company that makes everything from Axe deodorant and Dove soap to Hellmann’s mayonnaise — previously occupied the space, but it moved to the Hudson River waterfront in Hoboken last year.
“This is a tough deal for New Jersey,” said James Hughes, a professor of urban planning and policy development at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. “New Jersey has to confront this.”
The soon-to-be-former HQ at 700 Sylvan Ave. in Englewood Cliffs is the home of 1,200 employees and features a cafeteria, a fitness center, a grocery store and even an arcade. Most of those employees will move to Texas in the near future.
“We recognize such adjustments will have an impact on our people and we will be providing support to those affected,” said a Tuesday statement from Samsung spokesperson Chris Langlois.
Republican politicians and business lobbying groups, long critical of what they’ve characterized as over-regulation and over-taxation by New Jersey’s political leaders, were quick to jump on Samsung’s announcement as proof that the state is in desperate need of change.
These are not accidents, nor are they coincidences,” said Michele Siekerka, president of the lobbying group the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. “We must take heed of the loss of these large job creators and avoid damaging policies.”
What does Texas bring to the table?
Texas is one of nine states without a personal income tax, AARP says, versus New Jersey, with rates that range from 1.4% to 10.75% for the state’s highest earners.
Meanwhile, Texas is one of six states with no corporate income tax. New Jersey’s 11.5% tax rate is for net income over $10 million — the rate is progressively lower depending on how much less a business earns.
For example, a business earning over $100,000 pays a corporate tax rate of 9%, according to a Treasury Department explainer.
Housing is also more expensive in New Jersey. Data from Zillow shows that the average New Jersey house costs $571,373, versus $302,187 in Texas.
The Texas Economic Development Corporation says hundreds of corporations have relocated to Texas, citing its “pro-business climate” and “young and growing workforce.”
ExxonMobil previously moved its legal address from New Jersey to Texas, and other large corporations moving there have included Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX.
“States are in continual competition for companies,” Joseph Foudy, an economics professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business in Manhattan, said in an email.
“Companies have lots of options and a challenge for NJ and other high cost states will be how to remain an attractive destination for companies,” he continued.
What does New Jersey have to offer?
The state has some of the best K-12 schools in the nation and, at least in Bergen County, a sizable Korean-American population — a perk for Samsung, given that it hails from South Korea — said Hughes, of Rutgers.
“I’m sure their employees — their Korean executives — like New Jersey,” he said.
Other perks are access to universities and major talent pools, top transit hubs including the ports of Newark, Interstate 95, and some of the nation’s busiest airports. Plus great food!
And for Samsung to up and leave, the state’s “claim to fame” of high-quality K-12 schools “was not enough to keep them in New Jersey,” Hughes said.
“[Gov. Mikie] Sherrill has signaled the need and want to improve our business climate, to reduce costs, red tape and other permitting and regulatory burdens. We believe there is a reason to be optimistic,” said Siekerka, of the business lobbying group.
Business executives and advocates, including Siekerka, have indicated their satisfaction with Sherrill over her predecessor, Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, who was in office from 2018 to 2026.
“I hear again and again: It’s just too hard to do business here today,” Sherrill said at a New Jersey business summit in Atlantic City in March. “Permitting is too slow. Licensing is a black box. Projects fail because they simply can’t afford the uncertainty or the wait.”
“Time is money, and all the delays simply make the cost of doing business too high,” Sherrill said. “Too many companies have told me they’ve had to move out of state to grow or to just get by.”
Sherrill’s office declined to comment for this story.
Samsung already has operations in Texas
Samsung’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing, research and development is based in Austin, and the business office for its mobile and network operations is based in the city of Plano.
“The Samsung move to Texas is primarily driven by efficiency considerations,” said NYU’s Foudy, the economics professor. “With the rise of tech and AI spending, the importance of these products for Samsung will only grow. And so they are trying to consolidate their HQ within a few hours’ drive of these operations.”
For Samsung’s announced move to Texas, “Yes, it’s about taxes and costs, but it’s also about where employees want to live, raise families, build careers, and where employers can scale their operations with confidence,” said John Boyd, a corporate site consultant based in Princeton.
How much is the Samsung HQ paying in taxes?
Public records show that the property at 700 Sylvan Ave. contributed $720,338.14 in property taxes in 2026.
It’s not clear how Englewood Cliffs would make up for the budget gap, if there is any. The mayor and borough administrator did not immediately return emails Tuesday seeking comment for this story.