New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy made more than $2 million last year, records show

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy, made $2.2 million in income last year, his first in office, according to two pages of tax returns released by the governor’s office Wednesday.

For Murphy and his wife, both former Goldman Sachs executives and millionaires, it is the smallest amount of money they have made in nine years, according to an accompanying summary of the governor’s income. Last year, the couple made $6.7 million.

The governor paid around $833,000 in state and federal taxes in 2018, and donated slightly over $627,000 to charity, according to tax records. His effective tax rate for 2018 was 37.07%, up from 32.83% in 2017.

Most of the income decline can be attributed to how the couple’s investments fared in the stock market last year, said Alyana Alfaro Post, spokesperson for the governor.

Murphy received $2.1 million of his income from capital gains and dividends, and $147,000 in taxable salary. His salary as governor is $175,000. Most of the difference: the governor’s non-taxable contributions to a retirement account.

Part of Murphy’s investment income came from his sale of shares in Comcast, Boeing and Microsoft, according to financial disclosure forms, which only report the value of holdings in broad ranges. Murphy spent $22.5 million from his own pocket to win the 2017 Democratic primary.

Since taking office, the governor has put his investment portfolio in a blind trust, leaving day-to-day management in the hands of a family member. This fulfilled a pledge he made on the campaign trail.

In 2018, Murphy paid $210,749 in property taxes for his residence in Middletown.

Records did not show how much property tax he paid on his houses in Italy and Germany. In 2017, it totaled around $17,000.

The couple also kept a household staff, paying around $422,000 in salary, documents show. The governor’s office did not disclose how many people the Murphy’s employ or their duties.

Murphy lost over $800,000 on a women’s soccer team he owns, Sky Blue, which has declined in value year after year, documents show.

The governor disclosed the bulk of his tax records during a four-hour window Thursday when his staff allowed reporters to view documents at his office. Murphy’s predecessor, Chris Christie, disclosed his full tax returns on the state’s website.