From The Tax Foundation, October 23, 2019
Today, we are excited to release the 17th edition of our annual guide, the State Business Tax Climate Index.
While there are many ways to measure how much each state collects in taxes, the Index is designed to measure how well states structure their tax systems.
To do that, the Index analyzes more than 120 variables in the five major areas of taxation—corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and unemployment insurance taxes.
The result is a powerful tool for understanding how Hawaii's tax code compares and the steps it can take to cultivate a more competitive tax climate.
This year, the top- and bottom-ranked states are as follows:
Top 10 States
Bottom 10 States
It is important to remember that even in our global economy, states’ stiffest competition often comes from other states.
The modern market is characterized by mobile capital and labor, with all types of businesses, small and large, tending to locate where they have the greatest competitive advantage.
The evidence shows that states with the best tax systems will be the most competitive at attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth.
LINK: #37 HAWAII
Hawaii ranks 37th on business tax climate, down 11 places since it re-imposed 3 'temporary' income tax brackets—with a top rate of 11%—and rolled back estate tax reforms.
|
2020 State Business Tax Climate Index Ranks and Component Tax Ranks
|
| State |
Overall Rank |
Corporate Tax Rank |
Individual Income Tax Rank |
Sales Tax Rank |
Property Tax Rank |
Unemployment Insurance Tax Rank |
| Hawaii |
37 |
16 |
47 |
30 |
11 |
28 |
| State Business Tax Climate Index (2014–2020) |
| |
2020 |
2019 |
2019-2020 Change |
Prior Year Ranks |
| State |
Rank |
Score |
Rank |
Score |
Rank |
Score |
2018 |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
| Hawaii |
37 |
4.68 |
37 |
4.71 |
0 |
0.04 |
26 |
26 |
32 |
31 |
29 |
To learn more, you can download the full study here, including a detailed methodology, or you can explore the data by launching our interactive web tool at the link below.
Explore Our Interactive Tool
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