Is it worth it for New Jersey to dole out billions of dollars to lure corporations to the Garden State?

Researchers tasked with answering that question sent their findings to Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday. In a letter addressed to the governor, they delivered rather inconclusive news, saying it's too soon to tell if the tax deals are helping New Jersey's economy, and suggested the state may be giving out more generous incentives than stipulated by law.

"The report misses the point," said Ray Lesniak, a former Democratic state senator from Union County who proposed and sponsored incentive legislation dating back to Gov. Jon Corzine's administration. The report failed in determining whether the deals were necessary to create or keep jobs in the state, he said.

The letter to Murphy, sent by the Economic Development Authority -- the agency that oversees the state's economic incentive packages -- was attached to a long-awaited study by Rutgers University that analyzed the economic impact of the incentive deals.

The report by the university's Bloustein School of Public Planning and Public Policy looked at corporate tax break deals struck under the Grow New Jersey Assistance Program and the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Program.

The Grow NJ program offers tax breaks to companies to remain in or relocate to particular areas of the state. In exchange, the company is required to create jobs.

Companies can also earn bonuses when they fit certain categories, locate in certain areas or adopt certain practices. For example, when a business' project location is within a three-mile radius of a college campus, it can receive up to $1,000 per each job created.

The report says the Economic Development Authority is awarding too many "redundant" bonuses.

From December 2013 through August 2017, the agency approved 227 Grow NJ awards totaling over $4.4 billion in tax credits. The awards are projected to create (or retain) about 59,000 jobs. Only $212.2 million of those credits have been certified by the Economic Development Authority.

Bonuses attached to those deals accounted for at least 32 percent of the total -- about $1.4 billion.

The report also looked at the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Program. The grants are supposed to help businesses complete projects that could benefit the area where they're being built.

From January 2014 to April 2018, the agency approved 50 awards for the program, totaling about $1 billion in tax credits. The Economic Development Authority has certified only $39.4 million of those credits.

The Sayreville project, an endeavor that will turn a waterfront area of the town into apartments, offices and retail space, accounts for $139 million of the total.

The study was supposed to help determine whether New Jersey's economic incentive programs benefited the state's economy. But the report does not make a clear determination and says the Economic Development Authority may be misestimating the benefits to the state.

The incentive programs have been a source of political controversy in recent years. Critics say they are too generous and do not do enough to ensure job creation.

Political leaders, including Murphy, have criticized the overuse of the incentive package policy. In his budget address in March, Murphy called out the Christie administration, which he said "gave away" billions in corporate tax credits, depriving New Jersey of revenue.

"I do not oppose the concept of tax incentives on its face," he said. "But they must be distributed responsibly and as part of a broader package of incentives and investments that the state can make to better the climate for all businesses, not just a few favored actors."

A memo reviewed by the Wall Street Journal last month said the state could lose out on $545 million from these grants and tax incentive awards this year and risk stripping the state budget of $1 billion a year in revenue by 2020. Without the tax credits, the state's corporate revenue tax would be 12 percent higher, the Journal reported.

Elizabeth Maher Muoio, acting state treasurer, publicly acknowledged the loss of tax revenue and slowed revenue growth as a result of tax incentives in April.

Since Murphy took office in January, his administration has backed tax credits for film and television productions and supported the $7 billion incentive deal offered to Amazon and the $40 million offered to Teva Pharmaceuticals.

The economic development incentive programs are up for reauthorization next year, and Murphy has not said if or how he might want to change their terms.

When he entered office in January, he ordered an audit of all the current incentive deals. It has yet to be released.

A spokesman for Murphy directed all requests for comment on the report to the Economic Development Authority.

Erin Banco may be reached at ebanco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ErinBanco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.