Louisiana gains two spots in list of biz friendly states

Louisiana recently ranked 33rd in the country on the Tax Foundation’s 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index, up two positions from last year’s rank of 35.

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has monitored fiscal policy since 1937, publishes the index annually and Matt Moon, manager of media relations for the foundation, said it bases the rankings “on the taxes that matter most to businesses and business investment: corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment tax and property tax.”

Regarding the taxes categories considered, Louisiana ranked 19th for its corporate tax index rate, 24th for its individual income tax rate, 46th for its sales tax rate, 10th for its unemployment insurance tax index rate and 22nd for its property tax index rate.

Beth Guidry, executive director with St. Martin Economic Development Au-thority, said for some time now the Louisiana Economic Development has been trying to revamp the taxing structure for the state, which has historically been unfriendly to businesses.

“We are working day to day with our legislators on these issues,” she said.

“Efforts are under way to continue to make the state more business friendly.”

The state has made some progress.

Fran Henderson, partner with Boudreaux, Henderson and Co. in New Iberia, said the business friendly tax environment has improved.

“The state has been working really hard on incentives for companies who come into the state to do business,” she said.

“In general, the atmosphere has been ‘lets welcome businesses and get them to do business in Louisiana.’ ”

Tax Foundation Staff Economist Joshua Barro said companies will locate where they have the greatest competitive advantage.

“States with the best tax systems will be the most competitive in attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth,” he said.

Tax incentives boost new business development, which also helps create new, quality jobs for citizens, said Janet Faulk, Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

“Strong business communities mean a better quality of life for Louisianans,” she said.

The top ten states in the index were Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Florida, Montana, Texas, New Hampshire, Oregon and Delaware.

The bottom ten on the index were Minnesota, Nebraska, Vermont, Iowa, Maryland, Rhode Island, Ohio, Califor-nia, New York and New Jersey.