Study: The state tops the Great Lakes states for freedom.
How Free are Hoosier Business Owners from Taxes and Regulations?
Indiana is one of the freest states in the nation, enjoying an
overall friendly tax and regulatory climate, according to a new study.
“Indiana has quietly built a record as one of America’s freest
states and the freest state in the Great Lakes region,” according to a study by
the Cato Institute. “Although it has still
experienced small net out migration to the rest of the country over the past 15
years, its record in that department has been better than that of any other of
the eight Great Lakes states, and its economic growth has been better than the
national average since 2006.”
Of note to small business owners, the study cited a general
improvement in fiscal policy: local taxes declined from 4.1 percent of income
to 3.4 percent of income from 2009 to 2012.
Still, the state has room to improve.
For example, the report notes that Indiana could still “Reduce
debt and sales and income taxes by cutting spending on public welfare,
libraries, and housing and community development, areas where Indiana spends
more than average.”
