While the New Jersey headlines last week trumpeted a new deal intended to save the troubled Xanadu project in the Meadowlands, the governor also signed two pro-business tax bills that may be even more exciting for New Jersey business owners.

The first bill, S2753, affects businesses that allocate income to multiple states, and simplifies the New Jersey corporate business tax to a single sales factor formula. New Jersey previously relied on a weighted average of three factors -- property, sales and payroll – which tended to penalize businesses with property and payroll in New Jersey but little in the way of New Jersey sales. The new method of calculating New Jersey source income – based on New Jersey sales only – is phased in over three years, beginning in January 2012.