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IMPORTANT: We continue to have limited physical office hours, currently set as Monday-Thursday 9:00-4:00, and Friday’s are By Appointment Only.  With our varying staff levels, our phones do have additional hours of coverage, so please feel free to call. We still welcome you to pre-schedule a visit with our team as we would be happy to provide any one on one you may need!

2019 State Business Tax Climate Rankings

The tax climate for businesses varies dramatically depending on where your business is located. State business environments are constantly shifting; some states readily enact changes made at the federal level, while others do not.

Each year the non-profit Tax Foundation organization announces a ranking of tax burdens for businesses. The results of its 2019 ranking are noted here:

StateRankStateRank
Alabama39Montana5
Alaska2Nebraska24
Arizona27Nevada9
Arkansas46New Hampshire6
California49New Jersey50
Colorado18New Mexico25
Connecticut47New York48
Delaware11North Carolina12
Florida4North Dakota17
Georgia33Ohio42
Hawaii38Oklahoma26
Idaho21Oregon7
Illinois36Pennsylvania34
Indiana10Rhode Island37
Iowa45South Carolina35
Kansas28South Dakota3
Kentucky23Tennessee16
Louisiana44Texas15
Maine30Utah8
Maryland40Vermont41
Massachusetts29Virginia22
Michigan13Washington20
Minnesota43West Virginia19
Mississippi31Wisconsin32
Missouri14Wyoming1

Note: A rank of 1 is best, 50 is worst. Rankings to not average to the total. States without a tax rank equally as 1. D.C.’s score and rank do not affect other states. The report shows tax systems as of July 1, 2018 (the beginning of the Fiscal Year 2019).

Source: Tax Foundation – https://taxfoundation.org/state-business-tax-climate-index-2019/

The 10 best business tax states in this year’s index are:

  1. Wyoming
  2. Alaska
  3. South Dakota
  4. Florida
  5. Montana
  6. New Hampshire
  7. Oregon
  8. Utah
  9. Nevada
  10. Indiana

Most of the above states are favorable for businesses because they lack one of the common tax revenue sources. Some states lack corporate taxes while others have no sales tax or individual income taxes. Indiana is unique in that it has all the major tax classifications but at lower rates than most other states.

The 10 worst business tax states in this year’s index are:

  1. Vermont
  2. Ohio
  3. Minnesota
  4. Louisiana
  5. Iowa
  6. Arkansas
  7. Connecticut
  8. New York
  9. California
  10. New Jersey

The common themes within these non-friendly business tax states are high tax rates with complex tax codes. Iowa and Arkansas dropped into the bottom 10 replacing Rhode Island and Maryland this year.

Want to learn more? The full study is available at www.taxfoundation.org.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your tax situation please feel free to call.