Oregon Friendly to Business?
One of the common statements I read constantly is “Oregon is business unfriendly.” And people say that large companies are “fleeing” the State due to the environmental protections and high taxes here.
Well, Forbes Magazine disagrees with that. They say:
“Our ranking measures six vital categories for businesses: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. We factor in 37 points of data to determine the ranks in the six main areas. Business costs, which include labor, energy and taxes, are weighted the most heavily. We relied on 11 data sources, with research firm Moody’s Analytics as the most-utilized resource”
They peg Oregon in the #9 spot, behind Washington (#7) and Nebraska (#8). Utah comes in at #1 on their list, while interestingly, North Dakota is at #4.
The Small Business & Entrepreneur Site, doesn’t agree quite that much. Based on just tax information and only regarding Small Businesses, Oregon is firmly middle of the road.
“SBE Council’s “Business Tax Index 2012″ pulls together 18 different tax measures, and combines those into one tax score that allows the 50 states and District of Columbia to be compared. Among the taxes included are income, capital gains, property, death/inheritance, unemployment, and various consumption-based taxes, including state gas and diesel levies.”
The Tax Foundation puts Oregon at #13, only four places behind Texas (#9) which seems to be constantly touted as “the best” for Business.
Thumbtack.com Small Business Survey, in partnership withKauffman Foundation has an interactive map that puts Oregon at #20 overall. Their map measures a variety of figures, Ease of Starting a business, Tax Codes, Environmental Regulations, Zoning, Training Programs, and several others.
By any definition of the word, at least from those who get paid to think about it, Oregon seems to be decidedly business friendly.