VERBATIM
New Jersey Worst for Business — Wyoming Best
The state showing the greatest improvement is North Carolina, which climbed from 44th last year to No. 16 in the new index.
"North Carolina's largest improvement was in the individual income tax component section, where legislation restructured the previously multi-bracketed system with a top rate of 7.75 percent to a single-bracket system with a rate of 5.8 percent and a generous standard deduction of $7,500," the Tax Foundation reported.
The Tax Foundation has released its 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index, and New Jersey has once again ranked the lowest among the 50 states.
The annual ranking measures the impact of policies in place as of July 1, 2014, primarily regarding five kinds of tax: individual income tax, corporate income tax, sales tax, property tax, and unemployment insurance tax. It also considers the weight of a state's compliance burden.
The index "enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states' tax systems compare," the foundation stated.
The absence of one of the five taxes plays a major role in boosting a state's ranking. The state judged to have the best business climate for welcoming commerce is Wyoming, which has no individual or corporate income tax. It ranks high at No. 13 for its sales tax rate.
Wyoming also topped the index in 2014, 2013, and 2012.
South Dakota, which ranks No. 2 overall, also has no individual or corporate income tax. It ranks No. 18 for its unemployment tax rate.
No. 3 Nevada is the third state with no individual or corporate income tax.
No. 4 Alaska lacks an individual income tax and a state-level sales tax, Florida places fifth with no individual income tax, and Montana (No. 6) and New Hampshire (No. 7) have no sales tax.
Indiana, Utah, and Texas round out the top 10.
At the other end of the index, No. 50 New Jersey "suffers from some of the highest property tax burdens in the country, is one of just two states to levy both an inheritance tax and an estate tax, and maintains some of the worst structured individual income taxes in the country," the Tax Foundation observed.
The Garden State also finished last in the previous year's index.
New Jersey saw a real GDP growth of just 1.1 percent last year, compared to Wyoming's 7.6 percent, according to figures cited by The Wall Street Journal.
No. 49 New York ranks at No. 49 for individual income tax, 40th for sales tax, and 46th for property tax.
The next worst ranking goes to California, which is at No. 50 for its individual income tax, 34th for its corporate tax, and 42nd for its sales tax.
Rounding out the worst 10, in order from No. 47 to No. 41, are Minnesota, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Iowa.
The state showing the greatest improvement is North Carolina, which climbed from 44th last year to No. 16 in the new index.
"North Carolina's largest improvement was in the individual income tax component section, where legislation restructured the previously multi-bracketed system with a top rate of 7.75 percent to a single-bracket system with a rate of 5.8 percent and a generous standard deduction of $7,500," the Tax Foundation reported.
Also, the corporate income tax rate fell from 6.9 percent last year to 6 percent this year.
A state's business climate is significant, the foundation noted, because "states' stiffest and most direct competition often comes from other states. The Department of Labor reports that most mass job relocations are from one U.S. state to another rather than to a foreign location."
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