Say Anything Blog

Via emailed press release from Americans for Prosperity.

BISMARCK, ND – The non-partisan, non-profit Tax Foundation today released a report indicating that Measure #2 will improve North Dakota’s overall competitiveness in regional and national rankings. 

According to the Tax Foundation’s report, implementation of Measure #2 will improve North Dakota’s Individual Income Tax Ranking from 35th to 17th, and the Corporate Income Tax Ranking from 30th to 19th, with the overall ranking improving from 30th to 24th.

The Tax Foundation’s rankings take into account the application of individual income tax rates on sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S-corporations.  Measure #2 on the North Dakota state election ballot would reduce the state individual income tax by 50% and the state corporate income tax by 15%.

Here’s a link to the Tax Foundation analysis.

Shocking, isn’t it?  The idea that cutting taxes might help attract more businesses and more jobs to the state?

Meanwhile, the powers-that-be in the state think the best way to attract jobs and businesses to North Dakota is to keep taxes high to fund “economic development” projects that have a spotty record at best (see: Alien Technology in Fargo, among others).

Update: From the Tax Foundation directly:

According to the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, North Dakota’s tax system is about middle-of-the-pack both nationally and regionally. But when nearby states offer more inviting tax climates, capital, entrepreneurs and workers are likely to flow that way. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that this is happening to North Dakota. Measure 2 could improve North Dakota’s ability to keep and attract jobs and investment.

The Tax Foundation takes no position on what the optimal amount of government spending is, but North Dakota has had several years of strong growth in tax revenues and that suggests that Measure 2 can be afforded. Strengthening this observation is the example of neighboring South Dakota, which has only one of the three major taxes. North Dakota should be especially careful about ratcheting up government spending permanently, which could store up trouble for the future. The state should also be warned against using the surplus for economic development subsidies or one-time rebates, both of which usually cover up a broken tax system.