Wyoming tops the list of most “business-friendly” states, according to a report released this week by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
The nonprofit foundation’s annual rankings of the 50 state tax systems are designed to provide a roadmap for lawmakers working to keep their states competitive, the foundation said in a statement.
“There’s no question that states are competing with one another for companies, jobs and people,” said report co-author Curtis Dubay. “Taxes matter to businesses and the states with better business tax climates will reap rewards.”
The rankings are based on taxes that most concern businesses, the foundation explained: corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment tax and property tax.
According to the report:
The five most business-friendly states are Wyomiing, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska and Florida. The next five are Montana, New Hampshire, Texas, Delaware and Oregon. The five least tax-friendly states are Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, California and Ohio. Coming in just above the bottom five are Iowa, Vermont, Nebraska, Minnesota and Maine.“States need to constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve their business tax climates,” Dubay said. “If they’re standing still, they’re losing ground . . .”
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