Going through my Google Alerts this morning, I came across so many articles that mentioned Florida and taxes that I decided I needed to blog about it. Although it is not the only consideration to take when making a move, either as a business or an individual, taxes appear to be taking on a great degree of importance in terms of luring both companies and individuals to a state.
According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, The most tax friendly states for business, Florida ranks 5th. The states who ranked higher were Wyoming (No. 1), South Dakota (No. 2), Nevada (No. 3), and Alaska (No. 4). Based on that analysis, it is ironic that business interest groups are trying to reduce a 6% tax on commercial leases. Supposedly Florida is the only state to charge a tax on leases.
Fox Business News’, Do you live in a bad tax climate state, listed New York and New Jersey as the worst states for businesses when it comes to taxes.
Even luxury yacht owners fare better in Florida than other states, based on KUOW’s, Luxury Yachts Set Out To Sea To Dodge State Taxes.
Since we don’t have a state income tax, and are obviously pretty low on other tax criteria, we need to be careful not to overdue the race to be the lowest tax state across the board. It is taxes that pay for education and infrastructure, which are extremely important in keeping our state a place where both individuals and businesses want to move.