In a new report from California’s Milken’s Institute, North Carolina is ranked the 31st most expensive state to do business in. Our tax burden is 11 percent higher than the national average – which is bad. But our costs of electricity are low, which is good. But not for long. With the passage of Senate Bill 3 (Promote Renewable Energy/Baseload Generation), our electricity rates will increase $500 million annually. Since businesses tend to use electricity, this will surely make North Carolina less and less attractive to new and expanding businesses. Which is really bad news.
See Daren’s Spotlights for more detail on Senate Bill 3 here, here and here.