Best and Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship, Small Business

Today, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) published the “Business Tax Index 2013: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business.” The index ranks the 50 states, according to the costs of their tax systems for starting and growing a small business.

Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for SBE Council and author of the report, said: “At the federal level, businesses, investors and entrepreneurship have been hit hard in 2013 by big tax increases. But taxes matter for business at the state and local level as well. In the states, tax burdens vary widely, with competitiveness affected accordingly.”

Keating added: “Some states are situated well from a competitive tax standpoint, with others moving in the right direction. For example, Kansas has moved in a productive direction, with a reduction in its individual tax rate on personal income, capital gains, dividends and interest. Also, Ohio has eliminated its death tax. In contrast, though, various states are positioned very poorly, and some are moving in a direction that hurts competitiveness. A state like California, for example, has made a very bad situation even worse with its recent increase in personal, capital gains, dividend and interest tax rates.”

SBE Council’s “Business Tax Index 2013” pulls together 21 different tax measures, and combines those into one tax score that allows the 50 states to be compared and ranked. Among the taxes included are income, capital gains, property, death/inheritance, unemployment, and various consumption-based taxes, including state gas and diesel levies.

According to the “Business Tax Index 2013,” the 10 best state tax systems are: 1) Texas, 2) South Dakota, 3) Nevada, 4) Wyoming, 5) Washington, 6) Florida, 7) Alabama, 8) Colorado, 9) Ohio, and 10) Alaska.

The 10 worst state tax systems are: 41) Connecticut, 42) Oregon, 43) Minnesota, 44) New York, 45) Maine, 46) Vermont, 47) Iowa, 48) New Jersey, 49) Hawaii, and 50) California.

SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan added: “Competition for investment and business relocation is fierce, and state leaders who understand this dynamic are reshaping tax policies to enable capital formation and entrepreneurship. While states like Texas continue to reap rewards from Governor Rick Perry ‘s consistent work to strengthen the business environment, others like Louisiana, Indiana, North Carolina and Nebraska have put forward bold tax reform proposals that will dramatically improve their competitive positions if enacted. Also, state efforts directed at tax reform are pushing Congress to act.  The combination of state-based reforms and comprehensive tax reform at the federal level would provide a much needed boost to the U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

To view the full report with complete state rankings, please visit “Business Tax Index 2013.”