Economic Climate Dictated by Tax Law : Corporations Seek Tax Relief

I have to clear the air here just a little in that Wisconsin has made huge advances to fix it's tax climate from the years of progressive socialist Democrats with "Diamond Jim" Doyle as governor, that controlled the state for more then a decade, drove the state into the ground. 

But with Scott Walker as governor, a Republican,  has opened the state to new business from other states with generous benefits if they relocate and is now debating new tax reform to further the advantages that Wisconsin has over their neighbors, Illinois and Minnesota, which are tax heavy and getting worse as they are controlled by Democrats.

By the way, this report, that is based on the Philadelphia Reserves findings, was ahead of the Wisconsin accounting report to that institution. Wisconsin is still not good but better then this report shows and  moving rapidly in the right direction as both houses of congress are controlled by Republicans, and with Scott Walker as the governor, it's a sure thing this state will be a winner for business success.

Business Tax Climate Index
Source: Scott Drenkard and Joseph Henchman, "2014 State Business Tax Climate Index," Tax Foundation, October 9, 2013.
October 15, 2013

The Tax Foundation's 2014 edition of the State Business Tax Climate Index enables business leaders, government policymakers and taxpayers to gauge how their states' tax systems stack up by comparing the states on over 100 different variables in the five important areas of taxation (major business taxes, individual income taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes and property taxes) and then adding the results up to a final, overall ranking, says the Tax Foundation.

The 10 best states in this year's index are: Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Florida, Washington, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah and Indiana.

The 10 lowest ranked, or worst, states in this year's index are: Maryland, Connecticut, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Vermont, Rhode Island, Minnesota, California, New Jersey and New York.
Lawmakers create tax systems under the banner of job creation and economic development, but the truth is that if a state needs to offer such packages, it is most likely covering for a woeful business tax climate. A far more effective approach is to systematically improve the business tax climate for the long term so as to improve the state's competitiveness. When assessing which changes to make, lawmakers need to remember two rules:

Taxes matter to business.

• Business taxes affect business decisions, job creation and retention, plant location, competitiveness, the transparency of the tax system, and the long-term health of a state's economy.
• Most importantly, taxes diminish profits.
• If taxes take a larger portion of profits, that cost is passed along to either consumers (through higher prices), employees (through lower wages or fewer jobs), or shareholders (through lower dividends or share value).
• Thus, a state with lower tax costs will be more attractive to business investment and more likely to experience economic growth.

States do not enact tax changes (increases or cuts) in a vacuum.

• Every tax law will in some way change a state's competitive position relative to its immediate neighbors, its geographic region and even globally.
• Ultimately, it will affect the state's national standing as a place to live and to do business.
• Entrepreneurial states can take advantage of the tax increases of their neighbors to lure businesses out of high-tax states.