Recently, Thumbtack.com conducted a Small Business Survey in
partnership with Kauffman Foundation.
You can find the survey results here: http://www.thumbtack.com/survey. The survey involved a two-month long interview
of over 6,000 small business owners nationwide.
Most of the states in the survey have been given a grade for
small business friendliness. In evaluating
the states, Thumbtack.com looked at such factors as the ease of starting a
business, hiring costs, regulations, including tax code and licensing
requirements, availability of training programs and networking, as well as the
current economic health of the state.
I cannot say I am surprised by the results. Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah received “A+”,
followed by Louisiana, Georgia, Virginia and New Hampshire who got an “A”. Several states received the lowest grade, an “F”. These states are California, Hawaii, Vermont
and Rhode Island. Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Michigan and New York received a “D”. Overall, it seems that the southern states
and those in the middle are more friendly to small businesses, whereas the northeastern
states and California are less friendly.
I would like to mention several key findings about New
York. According to the survey, it was
ranked among the top five least friendly states for small businesses and was
ranked as #1 nationwide as the least friendly in terms of the professional
licensing regulations. I am sure that high
tax rates, the onerous LLC publication requirement and the high hiring costs
have all contributed to the grade. On
the bright side, I don’t think any other city surpasses New York City in terms
of the training and networking opportunities available for entrepreneurs and
small business owners. If you have
difficult time finding them, - email me and I will point you in the right
direction.
Four states are missing from the survey, including
Wyoming. I wouldn’t be surprised if
Wyoming got an “A+” if it were evaluated since it is truly easy to start a
business there and Wyoming corporations do not pay income tax.
This article is not a legal advice, and was written for general informational purposes only. If you have questions or comments about the article or are interested in learning more about this topic, feel free to contact its author, Arina Shulga. Ms. Shulga is the founder of Shulga Law Firm, P.C., a New York-based boutique law firm specializing in advising individual and corporate clients on aspects of business, corporate, securities, and intellectual property law.
This article is not a legal advice, and was written for general informational purposes only. If you have questions or comments about the article or are interested in learning more about this topic, feel free to contact its author, Arina Shulga. Ms. Shulga is the founder of Shulga Law Firm, P.C., a New York-based boutique law firm specializing in advising individual and corporate clients on aspects of business, corporate, securities, and intellectual property law.
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