4/11/03 - Eide Bailly released two tax studies ranking North Dakota #1 in low tax costs compared to 10 other states for manufacturing and food processing.

We believed we had a competitive edge when we talked to prospective businesses about North Dakota's low tax burden, but we had no objective evidence. Now we do," said Lee Peterson, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce (DOC).

DOC's conclusions are further affirmed by one other recent ranking. Business Facilities magazine ranks North Dakota sixth in the nation for best business location in terms of the overall costs of doing business.

DOC commissioned Eide Bailly, a North Dakota-based business consulting and accounting firm, to conduct the tax analysis. The study compared property taxes, workers compensation insurance, sales taxes, unemployment insurance and corporate income taxes over a 10-year period.

Bismarck, N.D., was compared to Sioux Falls, S.D., Richmond, Va., Great Falls, Mont., Eau Claire, Wis., Des Moines, Iowa, Chicago, Ill., Edina, Minn., San Jose, Calif., Omaha, Neb., and Greeley, Colo. "These cities are among those North Dakota often competes against when recruiting new and expanding businesses," Peterson said. "Marketing the state's potential to out-of-state business leaders is one more thing the North Dakota Department of Commerce is doing differently to help generate jobs and create a better quality of life for all North Dakotans."

Manufacturing Tax Analysis Executive Summary pdf - 80 K Food Processing Tax Analysis Executive Summary pdf - 83 K

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