Oregon Gets Middle Marks for Business Friendliness

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

David Cath, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Oregon isn't the best, but neither is it the worst place in the country to run a company, according to data pulled from nationwide business publications and testimonies from Oregon business owners.

Despite stringent regulations and an unfavorable tax code, especially for small businesses, the state’s economy is experiencing a surge over the past five years, up 2.8 percent annually, with the second best growth in the U.S., according to Forbes.com.

While the state’s quality of life is lauded by its citizens, a strict regulatory environment has proven to be a burden on businesses, said the CEO at Thumbtack, a website that matches customers to businesses.

"After a two-month survey of thousands of small business owners nationwide, we've heard directly from Oregon's small businesses that the state could do more to support them," said Jon Lieber, chief economist of Thumbtack. "Creating a business climate that is welcoming to small, dynamic businesses is more important than ever, and Oregon has more to do to get there."

That said, local tax rates don’t matter as much to small business as onerous regulations, according to a study from Thumbtack and the Kaufmann Foundation, a think tank.

“Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they pay their fair share of taxes…but many complain about the difficulty of complying with complex regulations,” the study stated.

By looking at rankings from top business and tax institutions such as Forbes, The Tax Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, GoLocalPDX has compiled a list of what these organizations have to say about Oregon's business climate.

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