In a similar fashion, the Tax Foundation took 184 variables (only 5 of which are named) and tossed them together using using some (at best) vaguely defined methodology to conclude that the primo place for a business to locate is…Wyoming. Huh? Wyoming?! Do investment firms want to move to Wyoming? How about health insurance companies? Is anyone clamoring to build another Silicon Valley in…Wyoming? Hell, no. That’s why it’s one of the least densely populated places in the U.S….and it’s going to stay that way. Who cares if their taxes are low, if nobody wants to move there? The facts speak for themselves.

South Dakota has the 2nd best business climate. Egads. I guess that S.D. is a swell place if you’re in the energy business. I’d rather drop dead than live in S.D. I bet that most Americans (including the much touted small business owners) feel the same way.

Coming in at #3, Nevada might be an interesting place to live…if you’re a gambling addict or Celine Dion. It might be an interesting place if you’re into Mother Nature and don’t need a job (i.e., you’re retired). But what kind of businesses want to locate there? Beats me. It’s not very densely populated which, if you ask me, automatically negates the Tax Foundation’s conclusion that businesses would be better off operating in Nevada than someplace like New York.

Alaska has the 4th best business climate. LOL. Alaska isn’t even worth discussing. All those small business owners who want to relocate from NYS to Alaska, raise your hand.

Now #5 deserves more thought. It’s Florida. People always say that they want to move their business out of New York to Florida. What’s going on with Florida’s high ranking?

Well, the Tax Foundation CHOSE to weight which taxes are most important to their rankings as such:

33.1% — Individual Income Tax
21.5% — Sales Tax
20.1% — Corporate Tax
14.0% — Property Tax
11.4% — Unemployment Insurance Tax

So HIGH income taxes have the MOST impact on LOWERING a state’s business friendliness ranking (per the Tax Foundation). More so than sales taxes, corporate taxes, property taxes or UE insurance costs. Why? Perhaps it has something to do with the income tax being a progressive aka fairer tax. The more you earn, the higher your tax rate…unless you’re Mitt Romney or Michael Bloomberg etc. who can afford accountants to find a million loopholes and help a rich person hide their money in offshore tax havens.

The bottom line is that many people don’t want to pay their FAIR share, including small business owners who aren’t INCORPORATED. So their “profits” are their income and they pay INCOME taxes on their dough or something like that. And Florida has no income tax, per some quick googling. They rely on other taxes. No wonder Florida has the best business climate! The Tax Foundation seems to have done their damnedest to define things so that Florida came out near the top in their rankings.

Now I’m not dismissing the bite of New York’s taxes. I’m getting screwed by our high taxes just like most everyone else. NYS is not tax heaven. It DOES suck. I just don’t think that the Tax Foundation’s “Rube Goldberg” contraption designed to rank the friendliness of a state’s business climate is all that enlightening….or surprising. The results are what the Tax Foundation preordained,

It must be hard to talk with Cuomo’s hand up your @$$ like you’re a ventriloquist’s dummy.