Ranging from Nice to Nasty – How States Treat Entrepreneurship – Montana ranks 38th – South Dakota 1st

Few politicians overtly deny the economic importance of entrepreneurship. Most seem to grasp on some level that small businesses serve as the engines of economic growth and job creation.

But how then does one explain the wide array of public policy climates established by elected officials across the nation – ranging from quite nice to downright nasty?

These enormous differences in policies are evident in the new tenth annual ‘Small Business Survival Index 2005: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation,’ which I write for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

The Index ties together different government-imposed or government-related costs that affect entrepreneurs and small businesses across the industry spectrum – from home-based businesses to high-tech firms to manufacturers, and everything in between.

The Index includes various tax measures, like personal income, corporate income and capital gains tax rates, property taxes, consumption-based taxes and death taxes.

by Raymond J. Keating

Full Story: http://www.sbecouncil.org/LatestNews_Action.asp?FormMode=CyberColumn&ID=359