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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![]() 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] ![]() |