NEW: Rhode Island Ranked Lowest in Overall Business Friendliness
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Rhode Island received the lowest grade for the second year running in the Thumbtack.com 2013 Small Business Friendliness Survey.
For the second year in a row Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding economic research has ranked Rhode Island the lowest in small business friendliness overall. Thumbtack.com released the 2013 results from its second annual Thumbtack.com Small Business Survey, drawing upon data from over 7,000 small business owners across the country.
Rhode Island, earned an 'F' in several ranking categories including overall friendliness, ease of business start-up, ease of hiring and licensing. The overall ranking carried with it the stigma of being named the most challenging state in which to start a new business.
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The Ocean State’s best rating came in the category of Employment, Labor and Training, receiving a “C+” when determining the state’s friendliness in labor regulatory practices. The rating rose from the 2012 rating of “D+.” The state also had slight improvement in the environmental and tax code categories. In a new category, Rhode Island received a 'C' grade for its small business training and networking programs.
Also ranked near the bottom of the barrel in New England was Maine, receiving an “F” for overall friendliness, while scoring top rankings in regulation, health and safety, labor and employment.
“Some 7,000 businesses owners across the country have told us that they care about a lot more than just taxes – for most businesses, simple licensing regulations and helpful training programs are even more important to their success, said Sander Daniels, co-founder of Thumbtack.com.
Key data
Key findings uncovered during the survey included:
• Rhode Island was the least friendly state.
• Newark, New Jersey was the least friendly city.
• Professional licensing requirements were deemed more important than taxes by 30 percent.
• Forty percent of U.S. small businesses were subject to licensing regulations by multiple jurisdictions or levels of government.
• The ease of obtaining health insurance was an important factor for many businesses.
• One third of small business owners rated obtaining and keeping health insurance as "Very Difficult," versus only 6 percent who rated it "Very Easy."
A positive when determining taxation practices, small businesses were found to be relatively unconcerned with tax rates with more than half of those surveyed feeling that they payed a fair share of taxes.
Data for the survey was collected in an online forum over a period of two months.
For more information on the survey, go here.
