Never mind that a New report calls Twin Cities tax climate ‘competitive,’ as Neal St. Anthony reports at the Star Tribune:
Maybe the Twin Cities, where corporate taxes are a perennial business lament, isn’t so bad after all.
The announcement earlier this month by Cardiovascular Systems Inc. of a new $30 million headquarters and research facilities in New Brighton didn’t get much attention, amid a lot of expansion in a booming Minnesota economy.
Still, it strongly underscores a report this week by KPMG International, the accounting-and-analysis firm: the Twin Cities has a very competitive “overall tax structure for business,” and it is ranked second for companies that do a lot of research and development, such as medical and technology concerns.
Minneapolis-St. Paul may not be low-tax Ireland, where Medtronic is moving its legal headquarters. But KPMG says the Twin Cities, thanks partly to friendly government tax policies, is a plum place for corporations.
The Twin Cities ranks 17th for “most competitive tax structure” among the 51 highest-ranked international cities, and eighth among the 31 highest-ranked metro areas in the United States. The most favorable corporate-tax structures exist in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Atlanta, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, according to KPMG. (The ranking of 51 metropolitan areas of more than 2 million people includes 20 other cities in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan.)
Moreover, for firms that invest heavily in research and development, such as medical-products companies, the Twin Cities is considered No. 2 in the United States and eighth in the world.
Or that the Hibbing Daily Tribune reports in 10,300 jobs added in May:
Minnesota employers added 10,300 jobs in May, according to figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The state lags slightly behind the nation in job growth the past year, but the jobless rate is considerably less than in the country.
The agency said the state has added 45,617 jobs in that time, a growth rate of 1.6 percent, compared with a U.S. growth rate of 1.8 percent during that period. Since January 2011, the state has gained 154,300 jobs. . . .
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate in May was 6.3 percent.
“Minnesota’s unemployment rate is at the lowest level in seven years, which is yet another indicator of our improving economy,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “It is also encouraging to see growth occurring in Minnesota’s construction and manufacturing sectors, which have each added more than 9,000 jobs in the past year.”
Or that CNBC rates Minnesota sixth in its America's Top States For Business list for 2014?
Endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson thinks we suck.
In Thursday's Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Chris Reinoos reports in Johnson talks jobs, health care:
In his conversations with different voters throughout the state, concerns about health care and balance between the two political parties come up frequently. But nothing comes up more than jobs.
“That will be the number one issue in the election without question,” Johnson said.
Johnson believes there needs to be serious tax reform and deregulation in order to make Minnesota more competitive with neighboring states. He did not support the minimum wage increase passed earlier this year, saying it may actually hurt those lower-wage workers that it is trying to help.
But rolling back the increase would not be an option for Johnson if he were elected.
Heckova message.
Photo: Minnesota's business climate, in Jeff Johnson's world.
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