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New Jersey Rates Worst State for Business Taxes

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New Jersey Rates Worst State for Business Taxes 

Ranking the Best and Worst States for Business Taxes

Annual release of the 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index

Washington, DC (Oct 28, 2014)—Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nevada rank among the best business tax climates, while companies in New Jersey, New York, and California struggle with the worst tax codes in the county, according to the newest edition of the Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index.

The report’s key findings include:

The 10 most competitive states are: Wyoming (#1), South Dakota (#2), Nevada (#3), Alaska (#4), Florida (#5), Montana (#6), New Hampshire (#7), Indiana (#8), Utah (#9) and Texas (#10).
The 10 least competitive states are: New Jersey (#50), New York (#49), California (#48), Minnesota (#47), Vermont (#46), Rhode Island (#45), Ohio (#44), Wisconsin (#43), Connecticut (#42), and Iowa (#41).
The most notable ranking changes occurred in North Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota, New York, Wisconsin, Maine, and Kansas (see state specific press releases for more details).

The report, now in its 11th edition, measures how well structured each state’s code is by analyzing over 100 tax variables in five different categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property, and unemployment insurance taxes. States are punished for overly complex, burdensome, and economically harmful tax codes, but are rewarded for transparent and neutral tax codes that do not distort business decisions. A state’s ranking can rise or fall significantly based not just on its own actions, but on the changes or reforms made by other states.

Since the last edition, many states have experienced ranking changes largely because of the fundamental reforms made in a handful of states. The most exciting change occurred in North Carolina which experienced the largest rank improvement in the study’s history, jumping from 44th to 16th place due to a fundamental overhaul of state’s tax code. Nebraska, North Dakota, New York, and Wisconsin also improved their tax codes. Conversely, Maine was the only state that saw a significant drop in rank this year due to its increased state sales tax rate.

“The federal government is gridlocked, but state policymakers on both sides of the aisle are enacting truly fundamental reforms,” said Tax Foundation Economist and Manager of State Projects Scott Drenkard.  “States are doing their part and it’s time that Washington steps up.”

The goal of the State Business Tax Climate Index is to start a conversation between taxpayers and policymakers about how their states fare against the rest of the country. This report helps answer the questions: How well is your tax code structured? How competitive is your state compared to the rest of the county? Are businesses in your state spending too much time complying with onerous tax provisions? Are you double taxing things you shouldn’t?

Full Report: 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index

25 thoughts on “New Jersey Rates Worst State for Business Taxes

  1. We’re #1! Let’s pay more taxes so we can subsidize free lifetime health care for double-dipping public sector workers! What a great place to relocate a business or to invest in. It only costs 3X what is costs in a southern right-to-work state to get anything done here, but it’s worth it ! We pay some of the highest public sector wages and pensions in the country, too, and despite the highest state + local taxes in the country, we still have the amongst the worst public finances of any state in the nation , with over $100 billion in unpaid credit card bills for promises we’ve made to public sector employees. Time to jack up those toll charges and gasoline taxes, too !

  2. Its all the workers fault again with the story. Give it up.

  3. Yawn, #1 when are you going to complain about the high cost of homes in New Jersey? Oh wait, you doubled your money on your home so that isn’t a problem. Geesh, you make over $300,000.00 a year but your complaining about paying $16,000.00 a year in property taxes! Talk about greedy. You should be taxed more, time for you to pay your fair share!

  4. “Time to pay your fair share”. Stalin would be proud!
    Tell me, what percentage of your income should go to the Government?
    Give me a number.

  5. How much money is enough? Why do you need to have 6 times the US median income to live on?

  6. #5. Who are you to decide what a fair share is? And who are you to propose to take that person’s money away at the point of a gun just because you in your wisdom think they have “too much”? You probably think you’re some kind of Robin Hood, but what you propose is theft just the same.

  7. #6 I could ask the same of you Big Shot. Who are you to decide what Public Sector Workers should earn or the benefits they desreve? Who died and left you boss of the world? There is no gun, you don’t like the taxes here, vote with your feet and leave. The last time I checked you don’t need a passport to leave N.J. so take a hike and stop complaining about what others have while your sitting in the lap of luxury.

  8. Thats telling them #7.

  9. #7 Your standard rant, which we’ve heard before, doesn’t address the issue raised by #6. I don’t see any reference to Public Sector workers in what he/she said. Of course we have to pay taxes to support government services, but what’s going on now with people using the government to fund themselves and their favorite causes and justifying this selfishness by saying “pay your fair share” is pretty revolting

  10. # 9 read the entire conversation fromm the first comment, NOT just the last few posts.

  11. This is what happens when the state has been ruled for years by Democratic control.
    Unions, unions, unions.
    Irresponsible spending.
    Tax tax tax.
    Who in their right mind would start a business here ?
    Who would stay here to die after making money (usually in NYC finance) so the state could pick their pocket one last time with the inheritance taxes?
    The Democrats who run the state ‘don’t get it’ and never will.
    Thankfully Christie put in some property tax caps but he has to negotiate with the Democratic majority so nothing much will change.

  12. The Liberals that shout “pay your fair share” never seem to be able to quote what percentage of your income should be paid in tax.

    Go ahead Liberals, give me that percentage.

    1. you fair share is what you work for get it LAZY MOOCHERS

  13. Maybe if congressmen like Garrett acted in the state’s interest we would get more than 60 odd cents from dc for every buck sent there- if we got 75-80 cents back we would be able to cut state tax levels, balance the budget and still prop up the red states which feed like pigs from the federal trough (except for Texas, they have oil and poverty)… Christie was dead on referring to NJ as a “donor” state…

    1. Paul I think you will find the Menendez and Booker as well as most of the state Democrats promote policies which use NJ Tax dollars for other projects, for example the ARC tunnel which Christie stopped was 100% paid for by NJ Tax payers


  14. Paul Smith:

    Maybe if congressmen like Garrett acted in the state’s interest we would get more than 60 odd cents from dc for every buck sent there- if we got 75-80 cents back we would be able to cut state tax levels, balance the budget and still prop up the red states which feed like pigs from the federal trough (except for Texas, they have oil and poverty)… Christie was dead on referring to NJ as a “donor” state…

    Do tell us how much we got back with Lautenberg, Bradley, Menendez, Booker ? ZIP POINT SHIT.
    Garrett is the only rep from Northern NJ who is not an embarrassment.

  15. I agree we get squat across the board- Garrett talks the talk while his red state buddies walk away with the cash- and I agree on the dem side as well- we get totally screwed- we’re a sinkhole for dc-

  16. Hey James, your “Donate” link on this blog puts you in the Moocher category. Be careful what you call others it could come right back at you.

    1. Voluntary donations are nothing like the coercion of the tax collector holding a gun to your head forcing you to hand over money to some loser , I am all for helping the truly deserving but not funding the lazy , with free phones, TV’s , cable, internet

      as for the MOOCHERS sorry I don’t care what Obama told you you cant MOOCHE your way to prosperity

  17. Whoever came up with that “fair share” language deserves massive props. It’s incredibly ambiguous and those who use it are never made to explain what their rate of fair share is. On the rare occasion where a journalist asks, they are always fed back a lot more waffle, and apples and oranges distraction about capital gains tax, of which the average person doesn’t even understand. The fantastical beauty of using the fair share line is that it’s entirely left up to the listener what it should be. The listener will, by sheer human nature, regard anyone who makes more than them as the target. This is class warfare 101 and it has been very effectively used by Democrat politicians for several years now.


  18. Paul Smith:

    I agree we get squat across the board- Garrett talks the talk while his red state buddies walk away with the cash- and I agree on the dem side as well- we get totally screwed- we’re a sinkhole for dc-

    A powerful Senior Senator has a lot more clout than a Congressman.
    Our NJ Senators have only been interested in voting lock-step with their Democratic counterparts, and once elected, do NOTHING for their constituents (unless its a govt funded waste project that employs union-only labor)
    A good example of a ‘bring home the pork’ Senator is the late Democrat and former Klan Member Robert Byrd of West Virginia. He practically moved the Federal govt to W. VA which greatly benefitted his constituents. While I did not agree with his politics, or his membership in the klan (funny how the media gave him a pass as a Democrat), I admired his ability to bring home the pork for the people who elected him.


  19. James:

    Voluntary donations are nothing like the coercion of the tax collector holding a gun to your head forcing you to hand over money to some loser , I am all for helping the truly deserving but not funding the lazy , with free phones, TV’s , cable, internet
    as for the MOOCHERS sorry I don’t care what Obama told you you cant MOOCHE your way to prosperity

    How often can a recipient of an Obama-phone trade up for the new model?
    Can they get the New 6S as an ‘entitlement’?

    1. Tracphone they were big Obama contributors

  20. 21- agree wholeheartedly- our representation is pathetic across party lines- and as the electorate keeps the incumbents in office term after term, to quote Pogo (us older folk remember this)..”We have met the enemy and he is us”…

  21. Dam, I guess Im one of them “older folk”

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