Item staff reports
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
Mississippi was ranked among top states to do business with in the 2012 “Top States for Doing Business” survey conducted by “Area Development,” a publication which covers site selection and facility planning.
n the survey, participants rank states on factors like business climate, tax structure and access to a skilled workforce. Miss. was among the top five states for overall cost of doing business and competitive labor costs; it tied for second in categories evaluating competitive utility costs, as well as speed in obtaining permitting, and ranked ninth overall.
“States were ranked in each of the 14 categories based on the number of times they were named as a "top-5" choice by the responding consultants. According to the results, the top-10 states for doing business are Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, Indiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, in that order,” according to the article posted on www.areadevelopment.com/top-states.
This is the third consecutive year “Area Development” has conducted the “Top States for Doing Business” survey. Miss. also ranked among the top states in 2010 and 2011.
This year, Miss. was highly recognized for working with businesses to navigate the permitting process in addition to helping quickly bring new operations and resulting newly created jobs online.
“To be ranked so favorably as one of the top states to do business by Area Development is proof that ‘Mississippi Works,’ and I am honored we have once again been recognized for our efforts to make Mississippi as business friendly as possible,” Governor Phil Bryant said. “Our business climate, combined with our dedicated workforce and prime location, has helped us attract leading global companies to Mississippi in recent years. We are working hard to support the expansion and success of our existing businesses while improving the business climate here and attracting new companies and industries.”
“We appreciate the fact that the site selection consultants surveyed by Area Development recognize Mississippi as one of the top places to do business in the United States,” said Brent Christensen, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA). “Many people work hard to attract new businesses to the state, help our existing companies grow and ensure Mississippi remains business-friendly and competitive. It is a privilege to be acknowledged by the professionals who help companies find sites for their location and expansion needs as a prime place for businesses to operate.”
Picayune Mayor Ed Pinero, said, “We have been marketing Pearl River County on these factors for the past few years. Our county has made great strides to position ourselves as the premiere location for manufacturers and businesses to locate. It is great to see that Miss. is being recognized for its pro-business climate.”
City of Picayune Director of Operations Harvey Miller said, “Miss. residents enjoy the lowest tax burden in the nation according to a ranking by Bloomberg. In an analysis of the states' income, property, consumption and inheritance taxes and their taxes on retirement investments, the multinational financial news corporation ranked Miss. ahead of S.C., Tenn., Ala. and Alaska, which took second through fifth place rankings respectively. Conn., N.J., N.Y., and Mass. were ranked as the states with the highest tax burdens. Miss. has a 5% income tax and 7% sales tax statewide.
“Property taxes per capita average $785 per year, and there is no inheritance or estate tax. The state also exempts all individuals retirement accounts from income tax and is one of four states that allow citizens to contribute to retirement accounts without paying state income tax on the money.
“I am very excited about what our great state has to offer. We need to keep getting the word out because these issues could greatly impact our state’s future.”
