Joining NFIB in the coalition are the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, the Virginia Retail Federation and the Virginia Manufacturers Association.
In a statement, the groups said Virginia is losing ground when it comes to the cost of doing business:
“CNBC just ranked Virginia No. 30 in ‘cost of doing business’ in its coveted 2014 ranking of America’s Top States for Doing Business. The TAX Foundation recently scored Virginia’s business tax climate at No. 26 – not even breaking into the top 50 percent of states. The Manufacturing & Logistics Report gave Virginia’s tax environment a ‘C+’ this year.
“Competition is gaining ground while Virginia remains relatively static. For example, Michigan recently repealed its entire tax on personal property providing a $590 million incentive to businesses to invest in the ailing state economy. Tennessee is weeks away from voting on a constitutional amendment to bar their legislature from ever imposing a state income tax. North Carolina even recently adopted comprehensive tax reform including a flat income tax that will drop to 5.75% by 2015.
“The groundwork has already been done in Virginia to chart a path toward comprehensive tax reform. In 2013, the Virginia Small Business Commission and the Manufacturing Development Commission collaborated in developing a set of four working proposals that would form the foundation of comprehensive tax reform leading to neutral tax choices and future revenue potential from greater economic activity.
“The Thomas Jefferson Institute and Beacon Hill Institute developed a tax model to assess the benefits and costs of these choices. The nearly year-long work of the business community and aforementioned commissions resulted in a clear opportunity to reform the Business Professional & Occupational License (BPOL) tax, Machinery and Tools (M&T) tax, Merchant’s Capital tax as well as sales, personal income and food taxes without harming local government.”
Nicole Riley, state director of NFIB/Virginia, said, “Small business is the engine that drives Virginia’s economy, but high taxes are making it harder and harder for small businesses to grow and create jobs.
“We need to fix Virginia’s broken tax system and stop punishing small, family businesses for beating the odds and being successful,” she said.
