California, We Are Coming For You

According to a new report, the Golden Coast doesn’t have much on the Peach State when it comes to attracting business. Spectrum Location Solutions found that there have been up to 10,000 business disinvestments from the state of California since 2008 and Georgia has absorbed a good chunk of them. Georgia was ranked 8th in a list of states that benefitted the most from companies fleeing California and the Atlanta was ranked 9th in a list of cities that came out ahead.

Similar to Georgia, California offers business incentives including tax credits for the film industry. Unlike Georgia though, California is considering tax hikes on fuel, vehicles, business properties. It already has an 8.84 percent corporate tax rate, which is a bit higher than Georgia’s 6 percent rate.

We’ve been sniping at California’s film industry for several years now, placing third in the country for the number of feature films in 2015. California increased its film tax credit in 2014 in response to competition from Georgia, but other benefits, such as the lack of unionized labor, keep drawing productions to the Peach State.

Governor Deal and the state legislature have made it abundantly clear that companies have little to fear from regulators or tax hikes down south. While the effect that attracting corporations has on the state’s overall economic well-being is unclear, it is undeniable that Georgia is one of the top states in the country for doing business.

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