Mainstream economists, small business owners and taxpayers across the country understand that growth-oriented reforms mean increased opportunity for all. As demonstrated by the annual Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, sound tax and fiscal policies are critical to economic health, allowing businesses and households to flourish.

A dynamic state economy starts with a principled tax code. As noted in the ALEC Principles of Taxation, state tax codes should be fair, transparent and economically neutral. Low, competitive tax rates on a broad tax base offer a level playing field to all. In this environment, more residents will benefit from greater economic growth.

The advantages of a low-tax environment are clear. Over the past decade, the nine states without a personal income tax have consistently outperformed the nine states with the highest taxes on personal income. Similarly, those states with no income tax saw their population rise 109 percent faster than their high-tax counterparts. In those same ten years, job growth in states with no income tax increased 130 percent faster versus the states with the highest income taxes. Even state and local tax revenues in the nine states without income taxes grew 51 percent faster. While other factors have surely played a role, these general trends held true decade after decade for the past half-century.

As the research overwhelmingly shows, competitive tax and fiscal policies are vital to a state’s future. With the right set of policies in place, lower-tax states can attract much-needed human and financial capital from higher-tax states that penalize wealth creation.