Virginia finishes only a whisker from first in study of nation’s top pro-business states

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
May 2006

Virginia again finished second in the annual ranking of the Top 10 Pro-Business States 2006, a study conducted by Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc. — but this time it missed the top spot by less than a point. South Carolina finished first.

However, Ronald R. Pollina, president of the Chicago-based relocation company and the study’s author, noted that the difference between the two states was statistically inconsequential. Other states, says Pollina, should look to Virginia’s example to help keep more jobs from being outsourced overseas.

Finishing behind Virginia in 2006 were South Dakota, North Carolina, Wyoming, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Alabama and Kansas.

The Pollina study ranks states according to 29 factors, including taxes, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, human resources, infrastructure spending, job growth and government-controlled-factors, such as incentive programs.
In fact, the study noted, a close examination of Virginia’s programs “reveals a very well-balanced understanding of economic development,” with a strong menu of programs such as low-interest loans, corporate tax credits, enterprise zone tax credits, infrastructure improvement grants, customized industrial training and property tax abatements. The study added that “Virginia’s strength is its ability to provide startup capital in the initial years of a project.”

Overall, the study concluded: “Virginia’s business-friendly tax environment, location, market access, education and infrastructure are especially enhanced by one of the strongest and most professional state economic development agencies in the nation.”