Small Business Insider
by Raymond J. Keating-
Small Business Policy Index 2018: The top six states on the Index are: 1) Nevada, 2) Texas, 3) South Dakota, 4) Wyoming, 5) Florida, and 6) Arizona.
SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2018” ranks the 50 states according to 55 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements.
What do Nevada, Texas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Florida and Arizona have in common? First, they each have a race for governor that will be decided this November. Second, these states offer the top 6 policy climates for entrepreneurship and small business.
According to the Small Business Policy Index 2018: Ranking the States on Policy Measures and Costs Impacting Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which I write for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, the best half-dozen states are, in fact, 1) Nevada, 2) Texas, 3) South Dakota, 4) Wyoming, 5) Florida, and 6) Arizona.
So, what’s so great about these states? Consider key factors for each:
1) Nevada
The Silver State imposes no personal, individual capital gains, corporate income, corporate capital gains and death taxes; has fairly low property taxes and workers’ compensation costs; the lowest level of state and local government employment; the third lowest per capita state and local government spending trend; the third lowest level of state and local government spending; the second lowest wireless taxes; and is a right-to-work state.
2) Texas
The Lone Star State imposes no personal, individual capital gains, corporate income, corporate capital gains and death taxes; has fairly low unemployment taxes and workers’ compensation costs; low gas and diesel taxes; ties for the lowest energy regulation burden; imposes no annual fee on LLCs; is a right-to-work state; and imposes no added minimum wage mandate.
3) South Dakota
The Mount Rushmore State imposes no personal, individual capital gains, corporate income, corporate capital gains and death taxes. Also, South Dakota ties for the lowest energy regulation burden, has a fairly low level of state and local government spending, is a right-to-work state, and has strong protections against eminent domain abuse.
4) Wyoming
The Cowboy State imposes no personal, individual capital gains, corporate income, corporate capital gains and death taxes; has a fairly light energy regulatory burden; the lowest state and local government debt burden; imposes no added minimum wage mandate; and is a right-to-work state.
5) Florida
The Sunshine State imposes no personal, individual capital gains, and death taxes; has the second lowest unemployment tax burden; the third lowest level of state and local government employment; the second lowest government spending trend; the fifth lowest level of state and local government spending; is a right-to-work state; and has strong protections against eminent domain abuse.
6) Arizona
The Grand Canyon State imposes fairly low individual capital gains, corporate income and capital gains, unemployment and gas taxes; has no death tax and no annual LLC fee; the second lowest level of state and local government employment; the lowest state and local government spending trend; a low level of government spending; fairly low workers’ compensation costs; and is a right-to-work state.
As voters go to the polls, it pays to keep these positives in mind about their respective states, and to be informed as to where each candidate stands on these issues. If elected, does the candidate not only pledge to maintain these competitive advantages that are critical to the state’s economic, income and employment growth, but also promise to work to improve in other critical policy areas, for example, as laid out in the “Small Business Policy Index”?
It is important to understand that whether a state ranks among the top six, or is among the bottom half-dozen – 45) Vermont, 46) Minnesota, 47) New York, 48) Hawaii, 49) New Jersey, and 50) California – it is all about the decisions made by state and local lawmakers.
Nothing assures that Nevada ranks number 1 while California comes at 50, other than the policies chosen and imposed of elected officials. If residents, including entrepreneurs, want to maintain or create a positive policy climate for small business, then everyone must be vigilant about who is being elected and what they specifically stand for in the end.
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