2015 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Corporations

Tom Wolf: Lower corporate tax rate by 50%, and close loopholes

At the same time, loopholes in that tax code allow many companies to avoid paying state income taxes altogether. Because of these loopholes, more than 70 percent of companies that do business in Pennsylvania do not pay corporate net income taxes at all. That forces more of the burden onto small businesses and families across our state

In other words, the problem is not only that our corporate net income tax rate is too high. The problem is that we are not even seeing the revenues the tax is supposed to generate. It is the worst of both possible worlds.

My budget will close the Delaware loophole and cut the corporate net income tax rate by 40 percent in the first year and 50 percent by 2018. That will take us from the one of the highest in the country to one of the lowest in the country.

John Kasich: No income taxes on small businesses up to $2M

Source: State of the State address to 2015 Ohio Legislature Feb 24, 2015

Greg Abbott: $2 billion reduction in the business franchise tax

My plan calls for a $2 billion reduction in the business franchise tax and a $2.2 billion reduction in the property tax burden. My budget includes an appropriation that makes school districts whole for any tax revenue they might lose.

Bill Haslam: Revenue Modernization Act: level playing field for business

We found that Tennessee has fallen behind other states in protecting our in state businesses from unfair competition from out of state companies. To remedy that, we will file the Revenue Modernization Act, which aims to level the playing field in terms of sales tax and business taxes.

The bill also capitalizes on trends that we're seeing in product distribution by creating an incentive for companies to use Tennessee's distribution industry, which maximizes our state's strengths. We are committed to Tennessee remaining a low tax state. This proposal simply brings us in line to better compete with other states and to not put our in state businesses at a disadvantage, which we are doing today.

Martin O`Malley: Change Maryland's anti-business attitude

A year ago, I held my second annual Change Maryland Business Summit on Improving Maryland's Economic Competitiveness. We became the leading voice on these issues. A year ago, this legislature created the Maryland Economic Development and Business Climate Commission, to make recommendations to make Maryland competitive. We are anxiously awaiting the recommendations of this commission. But, I am confident that we will find many areas of agreement to make Maryland a more business friendly and more competitive state, so that we can create more jobs and more opportunities for our citizens.

Martin O`Malley: Repeal personal property tax on small business

This burdensome tax and bureaucratic paperwork discourages the creation of new business, and drives small businesses and jobs elsewhere. This legislation would create a tax exemption on the first $10,000 in personal property, entirely eliminating this tax for more than 70,000 small business owners -- or one-half of all Maryland's businesses.

Pat McCrory: NC Competes: promote long-term job growth in global market

Our plan, "NC Competes," will promote long-term sustainable job growth and capital investment. It will encourage mid and large scale manufacturing, because manufacturing is part of our DNA. It will leverage our university research advantage to attract venture capital and a new generation of entrepreneurs, as well as help retain North Carolina's home-grown talent. This plan is based on a series of guiding principles--principles designed to grow North Carolina while protecting our taxpayers. NC Competes recognizes the importance of economic strength in all regions but emphasizes support to areas of high unemployment. NC Competes will require strong financial safeguards to provide a positive return to state revenues.

David Ige: $10 million for HI Growth initiative to support innovation

It also includes the thousands of small businesses that make up the core of our economic engine--those ma and pa stores whose predecessors include success stories like Foodland and the ABC Stores.

We need to nurture an "innovation economy," in which entrepreneurs use technology to develop new processes and products from existing ones, like smart phone makers who have taken their products far beyond the original concept of a mobile phone and created entire new markets.

It's a whole new economic paradigm which we need to support with modern infrastructure, whether it's expanding our broadband network or building innovation parks. That's why we are providing $10 million for the HI Growth initiative to support innovation.

Terry McAuliffe: Made 267 economic development deals, with $5.58B in capital

I was proud to help close the first economic development deal in Appomattox in 12 years, and their largest in 44 years, a Chinese company that will take over a closed plant and manufacture pollution control devices that they will then ship back to China, creating 349 Virginia jobs in the process.

Chris Christie: $2.3 billion small business tax relief package

And we have better targeted them to areas of our state that need investment most. And the verdict is in--and the early returns from the economic opportunity act show that it is working to attract and retain businesses. In total, our pro-growth policies and streamlined economic development efforts have brought in over $12 billion dollars of new public and private investment in New Jersey in these last five years.

The fact is that, the deeper they look, the more businesses like what they see. Companies have chosen New Jersey as a home for expansion.