Publications
State Business Tax Climate Index
Taxes matter to business. They affect location decisions, job creation and retention, international competitiveness, and the long-term health of a state’s economy. The Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index was designed to measure the “tax-friendliness” to business of each state’s tax system. The most competitive tax systems are typically found in states that raise sufficient tax revenue with economically neutral and simple tax systems. The least competitive are typically found in states with complex, multi-rate corporate and individual tax codes; above-average sales tax rates that exempt few business-to-business transactions; high state tax collections; and few institutional restraints on the level of taxation or spending.
Additional questions about business tax climates? Contact us at (202) 464-6200.
Publications from The Tax Foundation
- Testimony to Vermont Blue Ribbon Tax Structure Commission: Options for Improving Vermont’s Tax Competitiveness, by William Ahern, November 17, 2009
- Taxes, Competitiveness and the New Hampshire Business Climate (Testimony before the New Hampshire Legislature), by Scott A. Hodge, October 21, 2009
- 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index (Seventh Edition), by Kail Padgitt, September 22, 2009
- North Dakota's Measure 2: How Would Rate Cuts Affect the Peace Garden State's Competitiveness?, by Joseph Henchman, October 17, 2008
- County and City Income Taxes Clustered in States with Poor Tax Climates, by Joseph Henchman, July 11, 2008
- Governor O?Malley?s Tax Plan Puts Maryland at Risk in Regional Tax Competition (text of speech), by Curtis S. Dubay, October 26, 2007
- Governor O?Malley?s Tax Plan Puts Maryland at Risk in Regional Tax Competition, by Curtis S. Dubay, October 26, 2007
- What West Virginia Needs to Do in Order to Compete in the 21st Century, by Curtis S. Dubay, December 11, 2006
- Improving the Connecticut Business Tax Climate, by Chris Atkins and Curtis S. Dubay, July 1, 2006
- Rebuilding Mississippi's Business Tax Climate, by Jonathan Williams and Chris Atkins, October 24, 2005
- Indiana "Index Analysis": Impact of Gov. Daniels' Proposed Income Tax Surcharge, by Chris Atkins and Curtis S. Dubay, February 15, 2005
- Illinois "Index Analysis": The Potential Impact of HB 750, by Chris Atkins and Curtis S. Dubay, February 7, 2005
- Statement Before the Senate Finance Committee of the Pennsylvania State Senate On Pennsylvania's Business Tax Structure, by Thomas O. Armstrong, Ph.D., May 11, 2004
- Factors Affecting Industrial Location: A Bibliography, by TF Staff, December 1, 1956