Guest Op-Ed: Climate of Uncertainty for Businesses
By Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-C, Bay Ridge, 60th District)
Unseasonable temperatures aren’t the only thing wrong with New York’s climate lately. Ask a current or prospective Empire State job creator and he’ll tell you that an atmosphere of sky-high taxation, stifling regulation and European-style labor laws has combined to create the worst climate for starting or operating a business in the country. Actually, the second worst — that’s the latest finding of the nonpartisan Tax Foundation’s “2012 State Business Tax Climate Index,” a study examining the effects of taxes in the 50 states.
The top performers in the index invariably had clear, straightforward tax systems that generated sufficient revenue while promoting competition and entrepreneurship. The losers offered their job creators complex tax codes with soaring marginal rates, which kept unemployment high and reduced expansion. By measuring the effect its corporate, income, sales, property, and unemployment insurance taxes have had on job creation, Tax Foundation analysts ranked New York second to last in the nation in tax-friendliness, right above perennial job-killer New Jersey. Our ranking is unchanged from 2011, when only California bested New York in its ability to scare employers away and punish those who remain.