“Business Friendly” Advantage?

Whoa—in this day and age it is news when politicians stand up and say they favor raising taxes. Not a good way to get re-elected, especially when most people count every penny they have and don’t feel particularly secure financially. But in Illinois the lame duck legislature did more than just raise taxes in an attempt to balance the budget—state lawmakers enacted a whopping 67% increase in the state income tax and a 45% increase in the corporate tax.  So the new governor in Wisconsin is inviting business from neighboring Illinois into his state—we’ll tax you a lot less, he says. He’s sort of taking a page from Texas.

Down in Texas, the locals for years have been touting their “business friendly” state—which is code for no income taxes and no unions. Texas is a lot different than Illinois, which is more pro-union and I guess not as business friendly especially after this tax hike. And then we have Arizona, which is very business friendly and also right to work. Arizona has low taxes too, naturally, but just cut funding for liver transplants as well as mental health care, and wants the budget-busted federal government to build a border fence.