UTAH TOPS 'RICH STATES, POOR STATES' RANKING 17 CONSECUTIVE YEARS

Utah has been named the most business-friendly state in America for the 17th straight year in an annual conservative economic forecast. The “Rich States, Poor States” report released recently by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a network of conservative private investors and state lawmakers, found that Utah again dominated a range of 15 indicators after passing sweeping tax cuts for the fourth straight year. Utah has topped the list every year since it started in 2007.

Arthur Laffer, a member of Pres. Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, worked with former Trump presidential advisor Stephen Moore and ALEC chief economist Jonathan Williams to rank all 50 states. Their analysis favored those with generous tax incentives, light regulatory burdens and low debt.

New York finished dead last for the 11th consecutive year

“Americans are voting with their feet and fleeing the high-tax, high-regulation states like California, New York and Illinois for pro-growth, pro-employment havens like Utah, Idaho and Arizona, where leaders rely on a set of free-market principles and pro-taxpayer reforms that landed those states at the top of our rankings,” Williams said.

In a statement, Utah State Senate President J. Stuart Adams applauded the list. He touted the state’s balanced budget and pointed to $1.3 billion in tax cuts that his fellow Republicans in the Utah Legislature worked to pass over the past four years.

“We continue to emulate our pioneer ancestors’ industrious nature and strategic foresight that transformed our state into the economic powerhouse it is today,” said Adams, a Republican representing the state Senate’s 7th District.

The study builds on demographic trends that show more people have relocated from states with high-income taxes to states with lower tax rates in recent years, study authors said.

Idaho, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, Texas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Oklahoma and North Dakota rounded out the top 10 states after Utah. According to ALEC, Idaho rose to the second spot from fourth place last year due to “significant 2022 tax cuts.” Texas jumped from 13th to sixth place over the same period after passing the biggest tax cuts in state history last year. The group also noted that Texas broke into the top 10 after receiving a flood of residents moving from other states.

On the other side of the ranking, Vermont, Illinois, California, New Jersey, Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, Oregon and Hawaii filled out the 10 worst states for businesses list after New York.

The annual report has ranked New York last for 15 out of 17 years due to steep tax burdens, high government spending and complex regulatory policies. The state finished 49th in 2008 and 2013.

Lisa B. Nelson, CEO of ALEC, said the rankings confirm that workers and businesses “follow the jobs, the freedoms and the opportunity to achieve.”