A number of remarkable findings emerge from the EPI 2020 rankings and indicators. First, good policy outcomes are linked to prosperity (GDP per capita), which means that economic prosperity allows countries to invest in policies and programs that produce desirable results. This trend is particularly true for environmental health thematic categories, as building the infrastructure needed to provide safe drinking water and sanitation, reduce air pollution, control hazardous waste, and respond to public health crises has important implications for human well-being. The states with the worst scores in the core sub-index are Hawaii, Alabama, Washington, California, South Dakota, New Jersey, New Mexico and Maryland. Their tax systems impede economic growth by including too many trade inputs, excluding too many consumer goods and services, and imposing excessive excise rates. The government`s Business Tax Climate Index is designed as a relative index rather than an absolute or ideal index. In other words, each variable is ranked relative to the range of variables in different states. The relative rating scale ranges from 0 to 10, with zero not meaning “worst possible” but worse among the 50 states. Taxation is inevitable, but the particularities of a state`s tax structure are of great importance. The measure of total taxes paid is relevant, but other elements of a state tax system can also improve or affect the competitiveness of a state`s business environment.
The government`s Business Tax Climate Index distills many complex considerations into an easy-to-understand ranking. The personal income tax rate sub-index measures the impact of tax rates on the marginal dollar of personal income based on three criteria: the highest tax rate, the graduated rate structure, and standard deductions and exemptions, which are treated as a zero per cent tax bracket. The rates and brackets used apply to a single taxpayer, not to a couple filing a joint tax return. The tax rate itself is important, and a state with a high sales tax rate reduces the demand for domestic retail sales. Consumers will be more likely to make cross-border purchases or some online purchases, leaving less business activity in the state. This sub-index measures the highest possible VAT rate applicable to domestic retail transactions and taxable business-to-business transactions. Four states — Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon — have no state or local sales taxes and therefore receive a zero rate. Alaska is sometimes counted among the states without sales tax because it does not charge statewide sales tax.
However, Alaska localities are allowed to charge sales taxes, and the weighted average of those taxes statewide is 1.76 percent. Fisher`s conclusion carries little weight because the five indices serve very different purposes and each group has a different area of expertise. There is no reason to believe that the Tax Foundation`s index, which depends entirely on state tax laws, would rank states in the same or similar order as an index that includes crime rates, electricity costs, and health care (Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council`s Small Business Survival Index). or infant mortality rates and the percentage of adults in the labour market (Beacon Hill`s State Competitiveness Report). or charter schools, crime reform, and minimum wage laws (Pacific Research Institute`s Index of Economic Freedom). Risk Managers Identify locations in your operation or supply chain where weak environmental regulations are likely to result in financial costs Innovations in EPI data and methodologies for 2020 reflect the latest advances in environmental science and indicator analysis. Notably, for the first time, the 2020 ranking includes a waste management measure and a pilot indicator of CO2 emissions from land cover changes. Other new indicators deepen the analysis of air quality, biodiversity and habitat, fisheries, ecosystem services and climate change. Full methodology documentation is available on this website, and the EPI team is seeking feedback and suggestions to strengthen future versions of the index. Because the concept is difficult to measure, we welcome comments from legal or policy experts.
In which countries does the public have a right to environmental information? Peter Fisher`s notes: What does the business climate ranking really tell us? Now published by Good Jobs First, reviews four indices: The United States published by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. Business Policy Index, the American Legislative Exchange Council`s Beacon Hill Competitiveness Report, Rich and Poor States and this study. The first edition also criticized the Cato Institute`s Fiscal Policy Report Card and the Pacific Research Institute`s Economic Freedom Index. In the first edition of the report, which was published before Fisher summarized his objections: “The underlying problem with the . The indices, of course, are twofold: none of them really measure very well what they claim to measure, and for the most part, they are not designed to measure the right things” (Fisher 2005). In the second edition, he identified three key questions: (1) whether the indices contained relevant variables and only relevant variables; (2) whether these variables have measured what they purport to measure; and (3) how the index combines these measures into a single index (Fisher, 2013).