1. Business Climate

    "Florida is open for business — your business."

    - Gov. Rick Scott

    Business-Friendly Government

    • Leaders committed to keeping Florida's business climate favorable
    • Periodic reviews of regulations to ease the burdens placed on business
    • One of only 10 states with a right-to-work provision in its constitution


    Competitive cost

    • More affordable land, labor and capital than in most comparable states
    • Special incentives for businesses in targeted industries
    • Tax breaks for locating in rural and urban Enterprise Zones or on Brownfield sites


    Pro-Business Tax Structure

    • Limited corporate taxes; no personal income tax
    • No property tax on business inventories or goods-in-transit (up to 180 days)
    • Sales and use tax exemptions for specific industries and circumstances


    Expedited Permitting

    • Ongoing effort to make permitting processes quicker, less costly, more predictable


    Available Resources

    • Access to private capital from venture capital companies and financial institutions
    • Access to public capital through federal and state programs


    Entrepreneurial support

    • One-on-one counseling and training via 35 Small Business Development Centers throughout Florida and the National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando
    • Flexible, low-cost space and business services for young companies at dozens of high-tech incubators, accelerators and university-based research parks
    • Assistance in preparing proposals for funding through the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs

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    UCF's College of Medicine & Florida Capitol in Tallahassee
    Florida's exceptional business climate is the catalyst for new activity, University of Central Florida's College of Medicine (above, left); the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute rising in Port St. Lucie (below); regulatory review is under way in Tallahassee. [Photo: Left - UCF College of Medicine; Right - iStockphoto; Bottom - Steve Martine]
    Jay Nelson