The non-partisan Tax Foundation released their 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index earlier this week, and Minnesota was in the spotlight. Minnesota made the list of the ten WORST states for businesses, coming in at 41 - not exactly the place we want to be in today's already sluggish economy.

The foundation notes, "The modern market is characterized by mobile capital and labor. Therefore, companies will locate where they have the greatest competitive advantage. States with the best tax systems will be the most competitive in attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth."

The Index has been published yearly since 2003. It ranks states based on the taxes that matter most to businesses and business investment: corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment tax and property tax.  The states are scored on these taxes, and the scores are weighted based on the relative importance or impact of the tax to a business.

For more background on their findings, click here.

To read the full report, click here.

Today, the House passed H.R. 6275, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act, sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). This atrocious bill would impose $61.6 billion in permanent tax increases on businesses and individuals over eleven years in order to temporarily prevent for just one year a huge, unintended tax increase.  This bill would place a one-year “patch” on the exemption level for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), without which more than 25 million taxpayers would be subject to a large tax increase beginning in tax-year 2008. 

Congressman Charles Rangel (the bill’s architect) and I had a nice little debate about it on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning.



What makes this bill worse is that it would single out oil and gas companies from a broad domestic manufacturing tax deduction available to nearly all manufacturing in the United States. This is an irresponsible measure. Not only would it create disincentives for domestic energy production and investment, but it would make foreign energy investment and reliance more attractive. At a time when gas prices are soaring , increasing taxes on energy companies will make it even less likely that energy prices can come down.

We should completely repeal this antiquated tax policy without tax increases and give American taxpayers the full relief they deserve. This bill is a permanent tax increase to give a one-year tax cut. That’s a really a bad deal for the American people.

For more info on this legislation, check out my article published today by National Review Online: Be Pro-Choice: The AMT really has a hold on the middle class.