Site Selection magazine just released their 2012 state business climate rankings, seeing Texas drop from #1 to #3, behind North Carolina and Ohio. (See: http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2012/nov/top-business-climates.cfm.)

Texas ranked #1 among executives and #2 for competitiveness, but was #12 for mature business tax ranks and #42 for taxes on new business. This highlights the fact that, while Texas has a low overall tax burden, taxes are in fact, higher on business than the U.S. average. This is especially the case with Texas’ complex and burdensome margin tax. Eliminating the margin tax would no doubt restore Texas’ position as the most attractive state to which to locate a business.