The Tax Foundation recently released its results for the 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index, and for the first time in the ten-year history of the report, Texas has fallen from the top ten. It's kind of a big deal, since Texas always likes to brag about having the best corporate income tax rate of zero percent. But even with the sales pitch of having the lowest business tax rate, there are still ten states who offer a better tax value than Texas.
The report, according to one of its authors, Scott Drenkard, digs deeper into additional factors that affect business taxes and asks more complex questions like, "'How well is your tax code structured? Are businesses in your state spending too much time complying with onerous tax provisions? Are you double taxing things you shouldn't?" These are the facts that provide a clearer picture about overall predictability of future cash flow for businesses. A state that can offer better tax policy and lasting stability will always provide a better long-term return over a short-sighted policy that promotes price over value.
So which state was it that bumped Texas out of the top ten in the Tax Foundation report? It was Indiana, a state that never sells on price, and also a state that has spent nearly a decade creating long-term solutions that offer the genuine value of fiscal strength and predictability. We don't even try to compete with states that attract new business with short-term promotions like massive up-front cash incentives and zero corporate tax rates.
In Indiana, we can't and won't offer the lowest price in the country, but we can and will deliver the best long-term value by continuing to offer a more complete package of predictably low overall cost, fiscal stability and regulatory freedom in a state that works for business.