TAX CLIMATE HIGHLIGHTS HARSH FISCAL REALITY OF KEEPING MINNESOTA COMPETITIVE
St Paul (November 19, 2015): According to
the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the most recent 2016
Tax Climate rankings should send a concise message to lawmakers in Minnesota that the time has come for dramatic
policy changes in the state in order to empower
small employers and get the state’s economy on the right track.
“The fact that we remain in the
bottom ten of this survey with the very low ranking
of 47th best state should be a wakeup call to anyone trying
to convince tax payers that our economy is on the path to improving,” According
to Mike Hickey, NFIB Minnesota state director. “We have ranked poorly for far
too long for anyone to be able to say with a straight face that what they are
doing is working for the tax payers and small business owners in our state.”
Hickey is responding to this
week’s release by the Tax Foundation entitled the 2016 State Business Tax Climate Index. This
index ranks various elements of a state tax system and based on the premise
that policies can either enhance or harm the competitiveness of a state’s
business environment, ranks all 50 states on both the individual elements, and
the overall climate. As mentioned Minnesota ranked
a dismal 47th best with New Jersey being the worst state in the
analysis.
“States with sound tax policies
are not only competitive at attracting new businesses but able to generate
economic and employment growth by allowing their small business to operate
unencumbered by costly taxes,” Continued Hickey. “This is a great resource for
anyone that is under the misguided impression that temporary tax incentives
have the same long term economic benefits as systematically reducing taxes.”
The Tax Foundation argues that
if lawmakers are playing “let’s make a deal” with business owners under the
guise of job creation and economic development, the truth is that the state
needs to offer such packages purely because it is covering up a woeful business
tax climate.
“Its time for an approach to
improving our economy that will reduce our taxes and increase our competitiveness.
Proposals need to be made by lawmakers that will entice people to stay for the
long term so that our economy can rebound from what has been one of the slowest
economic recoveries in our lifetime.” Concluded Hickey.
