Utah Lures California Companies

Companies are getting the message. Over the past two years California companies like Adobe Systems, eBay, Electronic Arts, Oracle and Twitter have expanded in Utah. The Tax Foundation weighed in last week on the business tax climates of each state. Utah ranked 9th best, while California was 49th (only New York fared worse). Utah lowered its corporate income tax rate in 2008 from 7% to 5% which is one of the lowest in the country. If you want to gauge the regulatory climate by the numbers, consider the Pacific Research Institute which publishes its Economic Freedom Index. When it comes to regulatory environment it ranks Utah 2nd and California 49th

Read the Forbes story here.

New State New Economy Index

Many jobs lost in the recession are never coming back and job creation is expected to be sluggish for years. This has created an imperative to develop new jobs, business models and industries. The states are on the front line of this effort and it is more important than ever for them to embrace innovation and the New Economy. ITIF will unveil the latest data on how the states are doing in efforts to be competitive in the global, entrepreneurial, innovation- and knowledge-based New Economy. How did Washington State do? The report builds on previous reports that go back more than a decade and uses 26 indicators to assess the states’ efforts to succeed in the innovation economy. See how the states rank and learn about what has worked and where progress is needed in the 2010 State New Economy Index.