• About Us
  • Activity
  • Advertising
  • Books
  • Business
  • Contact
  • EB5
  • Entertainment
  • feedback
  • Government
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • Members
  • National
  • Nevada
  • Nevada News and Views
  • Newsmax
  • NN&V Ads
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Polls
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Subscription Confirmation
  • Survey
  • Survey
  • Terms of Service
  • Today’s Top 10
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Welcome!
  • Yop Poll Archive
Nevada News and Views
  • Home
  • Muth’s Truths
  • Politics
  • Government
  • Entertainment
  • More
    • Nevada
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Travel
    • News
    • Sports
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Pinterest

  • RSS

Government

You Mean Taxes Might Really Matter to Businesses After All?

You Mean Taxes Might Really Matter to Businesses After All?
N&V Staff
March 29, 2011

(Michael Chamberlain/Nevada Business Coalition) – You wouldn’t believe it by listening to the government unions and left-wing activist groups who’ve been trying to dominate the conversation in Nevada but it turns out that increasing the burdens on business doesn’t actually encourage them to come to your state. It may sound crazy but raising taxes and increasing regulations may actually force some of those already there to leave.

Earlier this year, Illinois raised its income taxes to close a budget deficit. Last week the President and CEO of Caterpillar wrote a letter to the state’s governor indicating his company may consider exiting Illinois.

In a letter sent March 21 to Gov. Pat Quinn, Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman said officials in at least four other states have approached the company about relocating since Illinois raised its income tax in January. 

“I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what’s right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest,” Oberhelman wrote in the letter obtained Friday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau. “The direction that this state is headed in is not favorable to business and I’d like to work with you to change that.”

Earlier this year Amazon.com and Overstock.com also announced they would be leaving Illinois after lawmakers imposed taxes on Internet sales. While many politicians and activists would like to argue otherwise, there is only so much any business can take before the increased costs due to taxes and regulations become unbearable. The recent tax increases were the straw that broke Caterpillar’s back.

Oberhelman didn’t single out any specific problem with the state’s policies in his one-page letter, but [Cat spokesman Jim] Dugan said the recent income tax increase — signed into law by Quinn in January — played a significant role in triggering the note.

Caterpillar is not certain to leave Illinois. If history is any guide, the state will likely offer Caterpillar some incentives to stay – incentives not available to other companies and which may have the effect of increasing the burden on smaller, lower-profile companies.

But the actions of Illinois illustrate that companies really do weigh the costs of taxes when considering where to locate. And there are consequences for states that see business as merely a means of producing revenue for the state government to be plundered at will. That is a lesson Nevada can take.

(Michael Chamberlain is Executive Director of Nevada Business Coalition.)

Prev postNext post

Related Items
Government
March 29, 2011
N&V Staff

Related Items

More in Government

NEW STUDY: U.S. Sugar Industry Good for the Economy, Jobs

N&V StaffJune 19, 2022
Read More

Citizen Outreach Opposes FDA’s Proposed Ban on Flavored Cigars

N&V StaffJune 17, 2022
Read More

Policy Shifts in India, Brazil Signal Price Hikes for International Sugar

N&V StaffJune 1, 2022
Read More

Zero for Zero the Solution to Global Sugar Subsidies

N&V StaffApril 26, 2022
Read More

Sugar Shortages and Shopping Cart Fights

N&V StaffMarch 28, 2022
Read More

Making a Sugar Mountain Out of a Sugar Molehill

N&V StaffMarch 23, 2022
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Subscribe Free By Email

Looking for the best in breaking news and conservative views? Let Chuck do all the work for you! Subscribe to his FREE "Muth's Truths" e-newsletter.

* indicates required
Nevada News and Views
Nevada News & Views is an educational project of Citizen Outreach Foundation, a non-partisan IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization. It is not associated or affiliated with any political party or group. Nevada News & Views is accessible by the public at no cost. It funds its operations through tax-deductible contributions from donors and supporters and does not accept government money or grants.

TAGS

Featured Article Nevada Politics business Muth's Truths government Government Opinion Muth’s Truths Obama Ron Knecht News Donald Trump GOP Republicans

Copyright © 2022 Citizen Outreach | Maintained by VirtualAlly

The Hickey Report: March 28, 2011
Proposed Bill Would Remove Overtime Pay Provisions