Study finds state’s policies conducive to growth.
In good news for small business owners, Arizona ranked fifth in the country in economic outlook in a new study by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The 8th annual Rich States, Poor States study ranks the states on 15 issues of state policy, including minimum wage, workers’ compensation costs, property tax burden, sales tax burden and highest marginal personal income tax rate.
Utah ranked best, and New York the worst. California’s ranking was 44th, while New Mexico came in at 34th. Arizona moved up two spots in the rankings since last year, but it has always fared well: In the eight years of the study, Arizona has never ranked lower than 12th.
In the study’s Economic Performance Ranking, which measures gross domestic product, migration and employment over the last 10 years, Arizona ranked 12th. In that measure, Texas finished first and Michigan last. Utah was third, California 37th and New Mexico 26th.
“The big story this year is the bipartisan embrace of state tax cuts,” said Jonathan Williams, co-author of the study, in a statement. “States are increasingly realizing the need to become more competitive through fiscal responsibility and free market economic reforms. We anticipate 2015 will be a record year for pro-growth tax reform.”
