Just weeks away from starting his second year running New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday would not rule out proposing another round of state tax hikes in 2019.

Murphy said during a news conference in Newark “it’s too early to tell” if he would include tax increases when he unveils his second state budget plan in early March.

“But it’s not too early to talk about principles — things that we care about — and tax fairness is on that list," the Democratic governor added after delivering a speech at St. James AME Church touting the accomplishments of his first year in office.

“Tax fairness” is Murphy’s term for making sure wealthier residents pay their “fair share” of taxes so the burden does not fall too heavily on the middle class.

Asked directly if tax hikes would be on the table, Murphy said: “I don’t know why I’d take anything off the table right now."

“I would say everything is on the table. Period. Full stop," he added.

The governor did not say what taxes, if any, he’d consider increasing in the budget, which would take effect July 1.

Murphy has not shied away from raising taxes to institute a more progressive agenda in the Garden State. But he’s also faced criticism from Republican lawmakers — and some Democrats — for doing so in a state with the highest property taxes in the nation.

In his rookie year, Murphy sought about $1.7 billion in tax hikes — including a new tax on millionaires and returning the state sales tax to 7 percent — to increase funding for education, NJ Transit, and government-worker pensions.

But he faced pushback from the more moderate Democrats who control the New Jersey Legislature, who must work with the governor to enact the state’s budget.

The two sides narrowly avoided a state government shutdown this past summer when they agreed on a deal: raising taxes on those who make $5 million or more and imposing a 2.5 percent surtax on corporations, a sales tax on Airbnb stays, a tax on e-cigarettes, and a surcharge on trips with ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.

That made way for about $1.6 billion in revenue for the state this fiscal year, which ends June 30. But about a quarter of that money will disappear by the summer and half will be gone by the summer of 2022.

Murphy said Wednesday the state still may need to do more to achieve “tax fairness.”

“Is the middle class getting the shake they deserve?" he asked. "Are the folks in the working poor and in poverty getting the pathway to the middle class?”

“It’s too early to tell how this all comes out," Murphy said.

State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, insisted in August that the next state budget not include new taxes. Instead, Coughlin said, state officials should cut spending.

“I urge the governor to focus on that and on achieving significant cost savings in the areas of pensions and benefits through negotiations with public sector unions," Coughlin said in a statement at the time.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, has indicated a similar stance.

Murphy cautioned Wednesday he’s also committed to growing the state’s economy, which would leave leaders with “a lot of more (money) at our disposal."

And he said he’d “like to deliver tax relief to certain communities in our state" — though he did not specify how.

“It’s not just an investment in the middle class — I’d love to have the wherewithal to give them a tax break if it’s within our still balancing our books,” the governor said. “So this is not a one-way street, believe me.”

State Republican Party Chairman Doug Steinhardt released a statement Wednesday imploring Murphy to stay away from tax hikes.

“When leaders speak of tax increases, even casually, it breeds economic uncertainty, especially in a tax climate as unfriendly as New Jersey’s,” Steinhardt said. “If we don’t take indiscriminate tax hikes off the table, then businesses and the well-paying jobs that come with them will take New Jersey off the table. It’s just that simple.”

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.