Perhaps Florida’s new Republican Gov. Rick Scott is envious of all the attention his colleagues in other states are getting based upon their conservative leadership, as he explains his own actions today in the Washington Times. One noteworthy proposal is his desire to slash business taxes in order to lure companies to the Sunshine State, rather than emphasize the corporate welfare (targeted economic incentives) warfare that states wage against one another:
My goal is to make Florida the No. 1 business state in the nation. We will be the state for job creation. And the first step in that direction is to begin phasing out the business tax by reducing it from 5.5 percent down to 3 percent this year. Over the next seven years, we’ll phase it out completely. Already our state has seen job growth just from the potential of that tax cut being enacted into law. Last week, Bing Energy, a fuel-cell company based in California, announced it was moving its corporate headquarters to Florida, based in part on the promise of lower taxes. Florida was in direct competition with Illinois and Massachusetts, each of which offered millions more dollars in incentives upfront than Florida. But the company decided the potential business income-tax cut and business environment on the horizon for Florida far outweighed what other states could offer.
The result? Two-hundred-and-fifty new jobs are coming to Florida.
Imagine that: A company that defers on the instant gratification of a big government handout in favor of a friendlier overall business climate. Maybe it will start a trend. Bev?
