Most attractive US States for business owners?

[Eric Coffey]

Just curious about what people's opinions are as to which States in the US are the most attractive (laws, regulations, taxes, etc.) to small business owners?

[84porsche]

NEVADA - I have heard that it is popular to establish Nevada Corporations.

[Par911]

Delaware.
http://www.mycorporation.com/whydelaware.htm

[Tishabet]

Nevada and delaware pretty much top the list.
Ever noticed that most of the major business names are incorporated in Delaware? Huge advantages for the business owners, investors, and pretty much everyone else.
However, if you're thinking of incorporating your own business out of state the advantages vary depending on a lot of factors. I incorporated my S-corp a while back, and it made a lot more sense for me to incorporate in my home state.

[RickM]

I wouldn't automatically say DE is physically the best place. Alot depends on the type of business. Do you need to be located near shipping docks, airports, large business centers, area with specific weather/geo characteristics, varied industry for manufacturing etc ?

[Iggy]

Physical location rarely has anything to do with the state of incorporation. Delaware is the number one state for incorporating. Its laws generally favor corporations. Nevada wants in on Delaware's action and is trying to catch up.

You'll find that Ford, GM, etc. are all Delaware corporations, yet their headquarters are in Michigan. That's not an accident.

[RickM]

Or perhaps becoming an "offshore" entity is attractive.
Bermuda sound familiar?

[RickM]

Tshabet makes a good point about DE....it's not always (or likely to be) an attractive alternative for a small business.

[john70t]

A certain worldwide shipping company has all their equipment titled in Oregon, probably because of state taxes.
It is important to have a (co-habitated) buisness office in Maui though, even if it's used infrequently
It probably all depends on the type of employees, the state flexability, and the quality of life for the owner. Anything could be manufactured and processed anywhere theoretically.

[pwd72s]

Oregon's vehicle license fees are indeed low....Could that be why you see lots of Oregon plates in California? Now, want to talk corporate and other biz taxes? Regulations on business? Oregon overall is very business UNfriendly. How does a 9% corporate State income tax grab you for starters? Anything can be manufactured anywhere? True...but if you're talking timber or agriculture, it's best to be located where the crop grows best. Trees are a crop like any other...only they take a lifetime to grow. A factory naturally wants to be near it's natural resource if we're talking heavy items. Otherwise shipping of the base material to the plant can kill you. I suppose that's why we don't see a lot of sawmills in the Sahara.

[Eric Coffey]

Good stuff guys. Does incorporating make sense for the smaller businesses though? Are standard sole-proprietorships and partnerships obsolete these days? The LLC option seems like the best of both worlds so far, IMO.


Also, what about "right-to-work" States, like Arizona. Probably not too great for the employee (finding jobs, lower wages), but do they protect/help the employer any further in reality?

[RickM]

Eric, Here's a good page of "Right to work" and "Employment at will"... http://www.fairmeasures.com/wrongful.html

You may be best off speaking to an attorney and/or accountant to decide on which business structure to work under in your state and for your type of business. There are quite a few variables and pros/cons for each. Also, be aware that none of these entities are lawsuit-proof. You'll most likely need to augment with insurance.

[Dantilla]

For my situation, an LLC works best. There are advantages to a corporation, though, so you should talk to somebody smarter than me.

The reason my business is in Washington state is because that's where I live! Definately not because it's business friendly. Geez- They even chased Boeing away.

[Superman]

"Employment at will" means the employer owns the jobs and can give and take them away at will. In Washington State, you can decide one day to fire everyone with a moustache. As long as you do not allow the record to reflect that you violated someone's human rights, you're okay. Yes, anyone can sue. No, the worker does not have any "right" to the job. The employer owns the job, not the incumbent. That's "Employment at will."

"Right to work" is the right to work at a certain place without being required to join the union. Washington is not a "right to work" state, which means that a person might have to join the union in order to work for a "union shop" employer.

These facts may not be on point with the question asked, but I just thought I would offer them anyway. Registering in a particular state and doing business there may be two different things. Yes, some of those states down south have some interesting laws, or lack thereof, regarding workers. Arizona is one of just maybe three states that have no minimum wage laws (except federal, of course). AZ is a "right to work" state. Washington State is not a right to work state, and has the highest minimum wage in the nation, I believe, at around $7.24 or something like that. So, Arizona is a better place to do business, right? Well, Washington State has perhaps the nation's highest concentration of bachelor and especial graduate-level degree holders. Productivity comparisons between states like these yield predictable findings, if you know what I mean.

Hope this helps.

[singpilot]

From what I have heard lately, the state of Punjab and the state of Guangzhou are the best states for business in the United States.

[Jim Garfield]

Not Rhode Island.

[Zeke]

Nevada has no tax on inventory. Lots of goods distributed from Las Vegas and Sparks (Reno area). In the deep South, there is a cheap and available labor pool. Lots of manufacturing there, i.e., Mercedes, Honda (AL), Makita, Hitachi (NC & SC, I believe) and of course your domestic paper industry.

Any place where a major employer left a smaller town would give you the key to the city as well as all the incentives you could ask for to open shop there. These local incentives could very well outweigh some bigger issues.

It all depends on the type of business and no. of employees.