April 15, 2014 (Indianapolis) – Indiana’s big move up in a national ranking for
economic competitiveness is a good reason to celebrate even on Tax Day, said
the National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) today.
“Indiana is steadily
moving up the ladder and it’s due mainly to the strong pro-growth consensus in Indianapolis,”
said NFIB State Director Barbara Quandt. “Indiana is definitely turning heads and
ultimately that’s a good thing for our economy.”
The American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) today released its 2014 Rich States-Poor States
Economic Competitive Index, which ranks states based on number of factors,
including tax rates, labor laws and regulations. This year Indiana moved up in the ranking from 14th to 3rd mainly
on the strength of its Right to Work law and lower taxes.
“Over the course of two
administrations we’ve made dramatic progress in terms of improving our business
climate and we are increasingly recognized as one of the best states in America
in which to start and grow a business,” said Quandt. “Right to Work was crucially important
because it made us immediately competitive with some of the Sun Belt states
that had previously attracted much of the investment. Governor Pence has moved the ball even
farther up the field with a number of important tax reforms.”
Indiana also hasn’t joined
the bandwagon of states now pushing to raise the minimum wage and its fiscal
stability is a confidence booster, according to Quandt.
“There are two
competitions going on right now across the country and the results are going to
be interesting,” she said. “Some states
are competing with each other for new business investment and new jobs. Indiana is among those states and we’ve moved
up the rankings as a result.
“Another group of states
is competing to see who could pass the most aggressive tax increases and labor
regulations,” Quandt continued. “We’ll
see how that works out. I can tell you
that small business owners in Indiana very much like the direction of the state
and they feel very good about our competitive position.”
For more information about
NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.
