From Chief Executive Magazine on Tuesday comes the announcement that Florida is now the No. 2 state in the nation to do business in.
Gov. Rick Scott has said he's rubbing his hands, anticipating the Sunshine State edging closer to knocking Texas off the top spot.
According to the latest edition of chiefexecutive.net, more than 730 CEOs from across the U.S. voted in the survey of chief executive officers the highest response on record. The survey asked CEOs to rank the best states for business based on a wide range of criteria, from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment.
CEOs from around the nation recognize it's working in Florida. We have cut business regulations, kept taxes low, we have no state income tax and weve paid down state debt, said Scott. CEOs have also taken notice of our superior living environment, noting our education quality, affordability of real estate and excellent transportation system.
The survey gave Florida high marks in all areas important for business creation and highlighted the state's living environment as well as taxation and regulation, the magazine said.
According to CEOs, Florida now beats Texas in living environment and is closing the gap in taxation and regulation. The article specifically notes, Governor Rick Scott has made it his priority to streamline state government, reducing 2,300 needless regulations and 12,000 government positions Scott cut property taxes by more than $210 million and eliminated the state tax for 63 percent of the businesses that paid it when he was elected.
Florida Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope, who also serves as president and CEO of Enterprise Florida, said, Today's announcement reaffirms that Florida is the perfect climate for business. (It) is a super state for business. We have the location, infrastructure and workforce needed for any business to be successful.
The governor points out that Floridas economy continues to grow. The states unemployment rate has dropped by more than 3 percentage points from two years ago -- second biggest drop in the country. Floridas unemployment rate is now below the national average and is at its lowest point since October 2008. In addition, the Sunshine States businesses have created more than 320,000 new private-sector jobs in the last two years, and 32,000 in March alone.
