California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

According to the newly released 2009 Business Tax Index: Best to Worst State Tax
Systems, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council report, California has the
4th highest business taxes among U.S. states

The “2009 Business Tax Index: Best to Worst State Tax Systems” ranks states according
to the 16 taxes that most impact small companies.

The states with the highest combined business taxes are: New Jersey, Minnesota, Maine,
California and New York.  For California that’s a slight improvement for which was 3rd
in the 2008 Index.

The states with the lowest business taxes are: South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming,
Washington and Texas.

“Taxes have been piling up on small-business owners and the cumulative burden is
particularly painful in a down economy like we are suffering right now,” says SBE
Council Chief Economist Ray Keating. “Unfortunately, state and local officials
continue to increase a variety of levies without a firm grasp of the burdens they
impose on small businesses and their state’s overall competitiveness.”

The taxes included in the annual index are state personal and corporate income,
capital gains, property, inheritance, unemployment, sales, gasoline and diesel,
gross receipts, excise and Internet.

California’s business taxes are a mixed bag. The Golden State’s personal income
and capital gains taxes are the highest and gasoline is 3rd highest. On the other
hand, our unemployment tax is the lowest and property tax is 36th, thanks to
Proposition 13.

For further information see, www.sbsc.org and specifically
http://www.sbecouncil.org/uploads/BusinessTaxIndex2009Final.pdf

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.