Business 2018".
Nipping at Texas heels are No. 2 Florida in a tie No. 3 North Carolina and South Carolina followed by No. 5 Indiana said the CEOs ranking.
In todays highly competitive business environment the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) is the largest deal-closing" fund of its kind in the country. And its now being used by Perrys successor Gov. Greg Abbott as a final incentive tool to differentiate Texas in the battle to secure major business growth projects that offer significant job creation and capital investment.
What explains the dynamism in the CEOs opinion of states in the middle of the rankings while their impressions dictate repetition in the rankings at the top and bottom?
Both realities and perceptions say CEOs State & Local Officials as wall as economic development consultants.
The top states recognize how truly important it is to maintain the business-friendly cultures and to have the incentives to move there that helped them grow dynamically.
Their business-friendly climate state incentives and geographical location were important factors in our final decision" said Masato Yoshikawa President & CEO of Kubota Tractor of the companys recent decision to to make a major relocation move from California to Texas.The worst places? No. 50 is California bested only slightly by No. 49 New York No. 48 Illinois No. 47 New Jersey No. 46 Connecticut and No. 45 Massachusetts.
If these rankings sound familiar thats because they are the exact same positions each of these states has occupied in each of the last four years in the annual poll of CEOs.
Generally those performing best and worst stay there because the states dont see significant leadership changes. They have a philosophy about how to approach the business climate and economic development" says Larry Gigerich managing director of Ginovus an economic development consultancy in Fishers Indiana.
Meanwhile there are fast and furious moves up and down by states in the middle. Rhode Island rocketed up 10 spots to No. 32 this year while Michigan gained 9 spots up to No. 27. Nebraska fell six to No. 26 and Idaho plummeted by 10 to No. 28. The fact that Indiana is generally a state open for business is kind of accepted" says Parker Beauchamp CEO of INGUARD an insurance and risk management firm of about 50 people headquartered in Wabash Indiana. Its been good enough for long enough that people just kind of know theres no shenanigans no running hot and cold. Its a very solid all-around state." Texas has no corporate or personal state tax" said Bill Hall CEO of Ultravision International a Dallas-based LED lighting manufacturer. And Texas gives us very highly skilled workers because of the number of great colleges we have." But Avis-like Florida and the Carolinas keep trying to knock Texas off the pinnacle. Florida is a very good place to do business with relatively low regulations and relatively low cost of labor a good university system and low cost of living with no income taxes" says Jeff Vinik the most prominent real estate investor in the Tampa Bay area.
And North Carolina has it right it has a nice environment and climate and is business friendly and while it doesnt have a zero tax rate property taxes are reasonable and so is the cost of living." says CEO of Grant Thornton Michael McGuire adding Plus Charlotte and the Research Triangle are there."
Meanwhile the high-tax high-cost environments created by the bottom states also tend to be self-reinforcing. Mostly those places are kept afloat economically by legacy advantages such as strong education and healthcare systems as well as by the fact that in-demand digitally skilled millennials enjoy living in their cities.
The situations of bottom feeders could get worse before they get better in part because of a particular effect of federal tax reform on high-tax states like the basement dwellers.
The exit numbers of companies and owners are going to be higher" McGuire says because people wont be able to deduct as much in property and income taxes. Theyre being taxed into oblivion."
Also the coasts are losing some of their perceived edge in talent and lifestyle amid sharply higher costs of living and facing steadily increasing digital capabilities in the heartland.
