{"id":6186,"date":"2010-08-13T08:33:14","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T15:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/?p=6186"},"modified":"2010-08-18T09:55:51","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T16:55:51","slug":"economic-diversification-what-do-companies-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/economic-diversification-what-do-companies-want\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Diversification: What Do Companies Want?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Chuck Muth)<\/em> \u2013 For anyone with any practical experience in the private sector, listing the sorts of things companies look for in order to open or move a business to Nevada is pretty simple\u2026.and obvious. <\/p>\n

But those who want to raise taxes to spend on all manner of government-run programs and services continue to claim companies aren\u2019t looking at taxes so much, but want a whole panoply of other \u201cstuff\u201d \u2013 including government-run schools, museums, performing arts centers, parks and recreation.<\/p>\n

Well, a recent story by Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> business reporter Jennifer Robison should put the matter to rest\u2026.except the forces of bigger government never rest and never quit.<\/p>\n

First, we keep hearing from the left that companies look at Nevada\u2019s failure to provide Cadillac-style government programs and services as the reason more companies don\u2019t want to relocate or open operations here. But \u201ca recent survey by Chief Executive magazine handed Nevada the No. 5 position among the best states for business, thanks in part to the Silver State\u2019s tax and regulation regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

A similar study last year by Area Development, a \u201cdiversification-industry magazine,\u201d listed a state\u2019s corporate tax rate as #5 on their list of considerations when considering a move, trailing \u201clabor costs, highway accessibility and power expenses.\u201d Schools, culture and parks didn\u2019t even make it in the top ten.<\/p>\n

Ditto for another survey by Site Selection magazine, which lists state and local taxes as the #3 factor in relocations decisions. And once again, schools, culture and parks didn\u2019t make it into the top ten.<\/p>\n

In addition, Robison\u2019s report included \u201ca sampling of businesses that moved to Southern Nevada in recent years, and what they said about why they decamped in the Silver State.\u201d And lo and behold, not one of the seven interviewed even mentioned schools, culture and parks as a factor, let alone as a deciding factor, on their move.<\/p>\n

In fact, in the entire story the only person to claim that businesses \u201ccare as much about world-class museums, quality performing arts and recreational opportunities as they do about taxes\u201d was some guy named Jack Kyser who founded the Kyser Center for Economic Research at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.<\/p>\n

Any bets on whether or not this guy gets government grant money?<\/p>\n

Anyway, here\u2019s a very brief summary of what the seven companies who moved to Nevada in recent years had to say about their reasons for moving here:<\/p>\n

Zappos.com<\/strong>: \u201clower taxes, more affordable workers compensation insurance and easier commutes\u201d<\/p>\n

Mobile Productivity<\/strong>: \u201cMcCarran (airport\u2019s) schedule of frequent, affordable flights\u201d<\/p>\n

Metl-Span<\/strong>: \u201cNevada\u2019s highway and rail infrastructure\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray Feiss Import<\/strong>: \u201cThe two biggest things for us were low outbound freight costs and the definite tax advantages over California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pediped Footwear\/American Grating<\/strong>: \u201cThe companies saved on workers compensation and health insurance, and McCarran International Airport has abundant service to the destinations the (owners) visit on business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Non-Invasive Medical Technologies<\/strong>: \u201cAcross the continuum, Nevada simply outranked the other state with its tax advantages and the worker pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cord Blood America<\/strong>: \u201cEasy airport access, shipping logistics and tax abatements\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, not one listed schools, museums or parks as motivating factors in moving here. Not one. If those sorts of things were on their list at all, they sure weren\u2019t at the top. And here\u2019s why this is important\u2026..<\/p>\n

Funding schools, museums, parks and other government services takes money. To get that money, taxes would have to be raised. On businesses. But as we see and know, businesses, given the option, would prefer a better tax climate than cultural amenities. So to raise taxes on businesses in order to build more schools, museums and parks to attract more businesses here will produce the opposite of the desired effect.<\/p>\n

To paraphrase a well-known phrase: It\u2019s the taxes, stupid. Not the schools. Not the museums. Not the parks. Taxes. Jack them up, and businesses will find greener pastures. It\u2019s just that simple. And it\u2019s just common sense. Which is why the left is on the wrong side of the issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Chuck Muth) – Funding schools, museums, parks and other government services takes money. To get that money, taxes would have to be raised. On businesses. But as we see and know, businesses, given the option, would prefer a better tax climate than cultural amenities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6186"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6199,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6186\/revisions\/6199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}