Whether you’re an Indiana native or an adoptive Hoosier like me, the last few weeks with Indiana in the political spotlight have been pretty exciting. It has been nice to see the state and its economic position reflected so positively on the national stage. This recognition is well-deserved.
I have had the opportunity to witness, up close and personally, first as an entrepreneur and now as someone representing small business at the statehouse.
You see, I remember when this state had very little to shout about. I came here from New York to go to college… and I have seen Indiana transform from a very average Midwestern fly-over, rust-belt state to a place that attracts business from other states, leads in tech innovation. A state that creates an environment where small business can thrive, not just survive.
I have a confession to make. When I arrived in Indiana to attend Butler University and then start my first business, there wasn’t a big government program I didn’t like.
Needless to say, the transformation I’m talking about wasn’t just Indiana’s. I was transformed, too. I quickly ran head-long into the barriers that government places in the way of entrepreneurs. There is nothing like the education of owning your own business to knock some sense into you. What I learned, of course, is that well-intentioned rules, regs and legislation can have unintended, job-killing consequences.
If you were to ask our small business owner members what the government could do for them, nearly to a person they would say, “Get out of my way and let me do what I do best: create jobs.”
How did Indiana come back?
The comeback began in 2005 with the Mitch Daniels administration.
Governor Daniels and his crew shook up the status quo and began with some heavy lifting. They had the courage to tackle challenging initiatives that created an environment where economic innovation could occur. But we can’t give all the credit to the governor. The Daniels administration had talented, committed partners in the General Assembly who also had the vision and courage to tackle some of the toughest stuff.
Let’s start with…..
• Executive Order #1 – Right out of the box – Mitch Eliminated Collective Bargaining for state employees
• Daniels conceived of and …. with the help of strong legislative leadership, passed “Major Moves.” An innovative effort that raised $3.1 Billion and funded a 10-year transportation plan.
• Daniels drastically cut the size of government.
• We passed a research and development sales tax exemption:
• Then there was Buy Indiana – Spend Hoosier tax dollars with Hoosier firms:
• Sweeping property tax reform in 2008.
• And then… there was Right to Work. It was the shot heard round the country. It wasn’t easy… but with strong pro-business leaders in the statehouse, Indiana passed Right to Work. The first state to do so in decades.
And so the table was now set for the Pence Administration
Since 2013 the General Assembly has passed a number bills that have been great for small business.
• They cut the income tax – Important to small business because most are pass-through entities. (3.4% to 3.23%)
• They eliminated the inheritance tax – a tax that was driving small business retirees to other states.
• Cut the corporate income tax
• Eliminated the Business Personal Property Tax … and the need to file…. for the smallest of business filers… an idea by the way… conceived by Senator Hershman.
• There were significant unemployment insurance reforms.
• Governor Pence placed a moratorium on new regulations and initiated a process for reviewing unnecessary rules and regs.
• And then last year, Indiana paid off the state’s unemployment loan from the federal government, thereby eliminating the costly FUTA tax penalty, saving employers…. Most of them small businesses….. $327 million.
I don’t need to remind you that most of this happened while we weathered the worst recession in our lifetime.
These are just some of the reasons Indiana has gone from way back in the pack to an economic leader. Today we’re one of only a few states with a triple-A credit rating and a budget surplus.
And we are leading the Midwest and much of the nation in many top 10 lists.
One final note regarding Indiana’s makeover
I contend that one of the reasons Indiana has been so successful in its transformation is that we have many small business owners serving in the General Assembly. Well over half of legislators in the House and Senate are small business owners. They understand what it is to meet a payroll and create jobs. Since most of the net new jobs are created by small business, it only makes sense that having job creators serve helps make Indiana an economic success story.
I know that owning your own business can transform even someone like me, a big government girl from New York.
Barbara Quandt Underwood
Indiana State Director | NFIB.com
National Federation of Independent Business
101 West Ohio Street – Suite 470
317-638-4447 Office | 317-690-3193 Cell |
