Florida leaders have been working to scale back on the number of regulations and taxes, but the absence of an individual income tax remains a big boost for attracting business.
Florida was ranked fifth for the fourth straight year as having the best business tax climate in the nation, with the lack of an income tax being a key reason, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.
The rankings for the 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index were based upon variables linked to corporate taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, property taxes and individual income taxes.
It is important to remember that even in our global economy, states stiffest and most direct competition often comes from other states, the report stated.
Certainly job creation is rapid overseas, as previously underdeveloped nations enter the world economy without facing the highest corporate tax rate in the world, as U.S. businesses do. So state lawmakers are right to be concerned about how their states rank in the global competition for jobs and capital, but they need to be more concerned with companies moving from Detroit, Mich., to Dayton, Ohio, rather than from Detroit to New Delhi.
Florida stands behind Wyoming (No. 1), South Dakota, Nevada and Alaska on the overall rankings.
Wyoming, Nevada and South Dakota have no corporate or individual income tax. Alaska has no individual income or state-level sales tax.
Florida held a No. 1 ranking -- tied with Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming -- in the category of individual income taxes.
Washington was ranked sixth overall.
Florida's other rankings:
13th in corporate taxes, behind Georgia, Mississippi and Oklahoma.
18th in sales tax, behind Wisconsin, North Dakota and Masschusetts.
10th in unemployment insurance tax, behind Nebraska and Kansas.
25th in property taxes, behind West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The overall bottom five: New York, New Jersey, California, Vermont and Rhode Island.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
