By Carlo Barbieri
If you don’t know that Florida is a great place to run a business – and that Boca Raton is one of the best places to locate – you just haven’t been reading the newspapers or the Internet.
Economically, things in Florida are becoming as sunny as the Sunshine State’s namesake.
It’s not just the climate that’s warm or the scenery that’s inviting. The tax situation is also an attraction for new and existing businesses. Florida kept its No. 5 slot in the Tax Foundation’s 2013 edition of the State Business Tax Climate Index, according to a report released Oct. 9 by the Washington, D.C.-based group.
The state’s rank, which it has held for the past two years, is based on an assessment of its corporate income, individual income, sales, unemployment insurance and property taxes, which are analyzed on more than 100 variables.
Most of the state’s five taxes drew a rank of between 10 and 18, with the exception of 25 for property taxes. States with the best tax systems will be the most competitive in attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth, the report said.
If you’re a business person thinking about setting up shop, give some serious thought to Boca Raton. Bloomberg Businessweek dubbed the city Number 2 on the list of top 10 places to start new companies. Boca is just behind Boulder, Colo., on Bloomberg’s list of best startup sites.
ZoomProspector.com, a business location website, weighted 11 factors, including the number of business startups, quality of the workplace and resources such as universities and venture capital. That’s why Boca Raton is often referred to as “Silicon Beach.”
On its own website, Boca Raton boasts “a unique environment for business – a strong business environment with economic resources and a well-educated workforce, all within a community known for its high quality of life.” The site says Boca “has easy access to road, rail and air transportation. Within the city are an executive airport, railway and interstate highway connections. Several commercial airports and two seaports are close by.
Success can be found throughout the state. Enterprise Florida, a public-private partnership serving as Florida’s primary organization devoted to statewide economic development, reports the following.
Through August 2012, Florida-origin exports were 4.2% ahead of the same period last year, a gain of $1.8 billion year-to-date.
The state’s year-to-date growth continues to lag behind the U.S. but the gap is narrowing (5.6% for the U.S. vs. 4.2% for Florida).
For the month of August 2012, exports were 2.7 percent higher than August 2011, an increase of $145.8 million.
Florida’s year-to-date origin-exports are still 46 percent higher than 2009 and 24 percent higher than 2010 for the same period.
Also, the Tampa Times reports that the CSX Railroad “has teamed up with the Tampa Port Authority, the Florida Department of Transportation and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. to build a new $30 million, 2-mile railroad loop and pipeline system that will quickly deliver ethanol and cargo.“
As reported in the Jacksonville Business Journal, “Port Canaveral announced $32 million worth of planned improvements designed to help the Central Florida port boost cargo shipments. The widening and deepening of its main shipping channel, set to begin in July 2013 and be completed by fall 2014, will allow the port to accommodate larger cargo ships.”
Nearly every county in Florida assists business development. In Palm Beach County, the Business Development Board works in conjunction with other entities or on its own to develop and maintain businesses. The BDB even has an office at the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, Palm Beach State College has a Small Business Development Center on its Boca Raton campus.
South Florida, by its geographic proximity to the Caribbean and South America, has spawned a new import-export trade, particularly with countries such as Brazil. In fact, Brazil is also looking to grow its economy, creating more business opportunities for both nations.
The Latin Business Chronicle noted that “Brazil’s government reaffirmed its expectations for an economic rebound in 2013 after two straight years of meager expansion… Brazil is now targeting 4.5 percent growth next year, more than twice the rate analysts expect for this year.”
Reuters says that in 2012, the Brazilian economy is likely to expand only 1.5 percent even with the improvement in the final months, but officials expect growth of about 4 percent in annualized terms in the fourth quarter and 4 percent growth throughout 2013.
Independent economists also see a solid rebound ahead in Latin America’s biggest economy, according to a Reuters poll of 36 banks. The median forecast for growth in 2013 was 4 percent and French bank BNP Paribas was even more optimistic, forecasting a 5.5 percent expansion.
With projected gains in major economic markets, the U.S. and Brazil, among other nations, are on track to expand trade globally. Boca Raton and the state of Florida are on the cutting edge of the movement and look to cash in on projected good fortune.