BFI is proud to participate in New Jersey’s Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) program. This program rewards businesses for operating in certain urban areas that have experienced economic hardship. BFI’s participation in the UEZ program has led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax savings for our clients.

An urban enterprise zone is an area that receives tax advantages in order to spur business development and economic growth. UEZ zones are established in municipalities, or groups of municipalities, that are economically distressed.

The goal of the UEZ program is to make certain areas more attractive to businesses and their customers. To accomplish this, the state government permits a lower sales tax rate for certain transactions that occur within the boundaries of UEZ zones. The program also provides loans, grants, and additional tax benefits to help business owners thrive within the zones.

The UEZ Program: Why We Choose to Participate

As a full-service business interior resource, BFI helps to create vibrant, comfortable places to work, heal, and learn. It’s only natural that the sense of commitment we feel toward our customers extends to the city we call home and the community that we’re a part of.

As a participating business headquartered in Elizabeth, New Jersey’s UEZ zone, BFI is able to contribute to local economic growth. While we play our part in Elizabeth’s revitalization, we’re also able to offer exciting cost savings for our clients. Thus, the UEZ program is a win-win-win for our business, yours, and our local community.

UEZ Tax Benefit for BFI Clients

As a certified business in New Jersey’s UEZ program, BFI is able to apply a discounted sales tax rate, as follows:

  • Standard NJ sales tax: 6.625%
  • UEZ sales tax: 3.3125% (50% discount)

To date, BFI clients have saved over $249,000 thanks to this reduced sales tax rate.

Benefits for Our Local Community

BFI is one of approximately 1,000 certified business in the City of Elizabeth’s UEZ. The program as a whole is estimated to have driven around 1.5 billion dollars in new development in the city. This economic growth includes attractive new spaces along the waterfront as well as the revitalization of distressed industrial neighborhoods.

While BFI clients enjoy a reduced sales tax rate, the tax dollars collected through the UEZ program go directly toward reinvestment in the zone. To date, around 50 million dollars have been generated through the discounted sales tax in Elizabeth’s UEZ. These funds contribute to infrastructure improvements, police force hiring, and streetscape beautification projects.