Florida Again Ranked in Top 5 for Best on Taxes

Once again, Florida ranked in the Top 5 for best states for taxes on business according to the 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index report from The Tax Foundation. The index focuses on how a tax system enhances or harms a state's businesses by looking at dozens of state tax provisions to create the ranking – a single, easy-to-use score that measures each state's tax climate against every other state.

While some states moved up and others down, Florida has remained very steady for eight years in a row. A key factor in Florida's ranking is the lack of a state personal income tax. In addition, Florida also ranked 12th in corporate taxes, 19th in sales taxes, 5th in unemployment compensation taxes and 24th in real estate taxes.

The 10 Top ranked states:

• Wyoming
• South Dakota
• Nevada
• Alaska
• Florida
• New Hampshire
• Washington
• Montana
• Texas
• Utah

The 10 Bottom ranked states:

• Iowa
• Maryland
• Wisconsin
• North Carolina
• Minnesota
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• California
• New York
• New Jersey

The Tax Foundation has monitored tax policy since 1937. A copy of the latest report is available at 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index.