Missouri has the 17th best tax climate in the United States, according to the latest edition of the State Business Tax Climate Index, released last week by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The state's rank has dropped one place from its 16th place ranking last October.
The index, now in its 11th edition, measures how well structured each state's code is by analyzing more than 100 tax variables in five categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes. States are punished for overly complex, burdensome and economically harmful tax codes but are rewarded for transparent and neutral tax codes that do not distort business decisions. A state's ranking can rise or fall significantly not only because of its own actions, but also because of changes or reforms made in other states.
The breakdown of Missouri's ranking this year is as follows (1st is best, 50th is worst):
• Missouri's overall State Business Tax Climate ranking: 17th
• Corporate tax structure: 4th
• Individual income tax structure: 29th
• Sales tax structure: 29th
• Property tax structure: 7th
• Unemployment insurance tax structure: 12th
"The federal government is gridlocked, but state policymakers on both sides of the aisle are enacting truly fundamental reforms," said Tax Foundation Economist and Manager of State Projects Scott Drenkard in a release. "States are doing their part, and it's time that Washington steps up."
The report also found the 10 most competitive states are Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Florida, Montana, New Hampshire, Indiana, Utah and Texas, and the 10 least competitive states are New Jersey, New York, California, Minnesota, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Iowa.