Michigan has once again ranked among the top states for doing business, this time coming in 12th in the Tax Foundation’s 2020 State Business Tax Climate Index. Up five spots from last year, Michigan is one of only two states in the Midwest to be in the top half of the rankings. Combined with a cost of living that is 10 percent below the national average, Michigan has repeatedly earned its reputation as a business-friendly state.
Designed to show how well states structure their tax systems, the Tax Climate Index is based on five components including individual income tax, sales tax, corporate income tax, property tax and unemployment insurance tax. Compared to 2019, Michigan showed the most improvement in the unemployment insurance tax component, moving up 32 spots to #17. The state also rose up 10 spots in the rankings for sales tax from #19 to #9.
“The business environment we have created here in Michigan, including a favorable tax climate, provides a recipe for success as companies are looking to expand their operations here in the state,” Josh Hundt, MEDC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer. “From a competitive cost of doing business – reaffirmed by this most recent Business Tax Climate Index ranking –to a high quality of life that still costs 10 percent less than the national average, Michigan is making a compelling case for growth.”
These are just the most recent accolades the state has received. In other good news, Site Selection just released the 2019 Business Climate Rankings. Overall Michigan rose in the rankings to #16 from #18 in 2018.
50 percent of the ranking is based on a survey of corporate site selectors (Executive Survey). For the executive survey rank, Michigan improved seven spots, indicating an increasingly positive experience for site selectors doing business in Michigan. In the survey, participants were asked to rank the states based on their recent experience of locating facilities in them.
And Michigan was recently ranked #4 nationally on the list of top states for manufacturing employment in Business Facilities 15th annual Rankings Report, and was recognized for its excellence in economic development by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) with five IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Awards.
Together, these types of acknowledgements further underscore the state’s strong economic growth and effective business attraction and job creation efforts. Big changes are taking place in the world and once again Michigan is at the forefront.
To see why companies are choosing Michigan, visit here. To learn more about the services available from the MEDC to help businesses grow, go to michiganbusiness.org.
