Small Business Policy Index 2019: Florida ranked 3rd – or third best – among the 50 states.
SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2019” ranks the 50 states according to 62 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements.
Small Business Tax Index 2019: Florida ranked 5th – or fifth best – among the 50 states.
SBE Council’s “Small Business Tax Index 2019” is included in the Policy Index report, ranking the states according to a wide array of tax measures, including income, capital gains, property, death, unemployment, and various consumption-based taxes like state gas and diesel levies.
When the state of Florida is mentioned, there remains a good chunk of the country that thinks about two things – theme parks and retirement. But Florida is much more than that. Indeed, I think of the Sunshine State as “Entrepreneurial Florida.”
According to SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2019: Ranking the States on Policy Measures and Costs Impacting Entrepreneurship and Small Business Growth,” which ranks the 50 states according to 62 different policy measures, including assorted tax, regulatory and government spending measures, Florida ranked third best among the 50 states. And the state earned the fifth best spot on the “Small Business Tax Index 2019,” which is a subset of the larger Policy Index, whereby the states are ranked just on tax measures.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a great theme park as much as the next fifty-something who refuses to fully grow up. And yes, Florida arguably has the best theme parks on the planet with places like Walt Disney World and the Universal Orlando Resort. But to think of only theme parks, as well as a retirement haven, is to do a disservice to what has been accomplished in Florida, and it could mean missing out on significant opportunities. After all, Florida surpassed New York in 2014 to become the third most populous state in the nation for more reasons than just Mickey Mouse.
On the public policy front, there are several key factors that give Florida a significant competitive advantage in attracting entrepreneurs, businesses, investment and workers.
The biggest positive for Florida is the fact that it imposes no personal, individual capital gains, and death taxes. In addition, Florida has the second lowest unemployment tax burden; the third lowest level of state and local government employment; the second lowest government spending trend in recent years; and the third lowest level of state and local government spending.
Florida also is a right-to-work state; imposes light land-use and zoning regulations; and has strong protections against eminent domain abuse.
That’s a powerful pro-entrepreneurship and pro-growth policy climate. And that’s why I call the state “Entrepreneurial Florida.”
Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios at the end of this month. So, there’s that, too.
Related Content:
FOX NEWS: Financial Firms Fleeing High-Tax Northeast for Billionaire-Packed Florida County, August 5, 2019.
Businesses and people are leaving New York in droves, but the entire Northeast is ripe for poaching potential residents. According to the piece:
● “Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of Palm Beach County’s Business Development Board, told FOX Business that more than 70 financial services companies have moved into Palm Beach County within the last three years. Currently, the organization is working with another 15.”
● “Around April 15, Miami real estate development firm Codina Partners launched its ‘Unhappy New Yorkers’ campaign. Armando Codina, executive chairman of Codina Partners, told FOX Business the firm also planned to launch similar campaigns targeting New Jersey and Connecticut.”
● “Data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that while Florida received more movers than any other state last year, New York’s outflows to the Sunshine State were the highest – 63,772 people. New York had the third-largest outflows of any state, with 452,580 people moving out within the past year.”
● “Individuals earning $650,000 can save more than $69,700 in taxes per year by moving from New York to Florida.”
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SBE Council
Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
