WASHINGTON, D.C. — With “Tax Day,” April 15, almost upon us, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council has published the “Business Tax Index 2008: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business”, ranking the states according to the costs of their tax systems for small business startup and growth.

According to the index, Wyoming’s tax system ranked third best in the nation, after South Dakota and Nevada, respectively.

The Business Tax Index pulls together 16 different tax measures into one score that allows the 50 states and District of Columbia to be compared. Among the taxes included are income, property, inheritance, unemployment and various consumption-based taxes, including state gasoline and diesel fuel levies.

“Entrepreneurs and small businesses have to struggle every day with the costs of taxation, which affect a wide array of decisions, including hiring, investment, expansion and location,” SBE Council President and CEO Karen Kerrigan said. “While the federal tax burden and the complexity of that system is quite heavy, state and local taxes can add significantly to that load. The Business Tax Index captures these costs, and provides businesses, investors and political leaders with a measurement of how the states stack up against each other in this regard.”

According to the Business Tax Index 2008, the 15 best state tax systems are:

1. South Dakota, 2. Nevada, 3. Wyoming, 4. Washington, 5. Florida, 6. Alaska, 7. Texas, 8. Colorado, 9. Alabama, 10. Mississippi, 11. South Carolina, 12. Tennessee, 13. Missouri, 14. Ohio and 15. Virginia.

The 15 worst state tax systems are:

37. North Carolina, 38. Nebraska, 39. West Virginia, 40. Hawaii, 41. Idaho, 42. Vermont, 43. Massachusetts, 44. New York, 45. Rhode Island, 46. Maine, 47. Iowa, 48. California, 49. Minnesota, 50. New Jersey and 51. District of Columbia.

Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for SBE Council and author of the report, wrote: “In the end, taxes matter. They matter at the federal, state and local levels of government. They matter to consumers, entrepreneurs, investors and businesses. They matter in terms of a state’s competitiveness. And they matter when it comes to economic growth and job creation.”

The “Business Tax Index 2008: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business” can be downloaded from SBE Council’s Web site at www.sbecouncil.org.