Nevada is second for small business survival

Nevada ranked second in the nation for its positive public policy climate for small business and entrepreneurship in an annual ranking done by a nonprofit small business advocacy group.

The Washington, D.C.,-based Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council judges whether public policies help or hurt the entrepreneurial sector of the economy in its Small Business Survival Index 2005.

This year the index was revised and expanded to include health-care regulation. It now analyzes 26 major government-imposed or government-related costs affecting small businesses. These government-imposed or government-related costs are added together to compute an overall rating.

Nevada's small business benefits, according to the report:

-- No personal income, capital gains or corporate income taxes

-- No death tax and no Internet access sales tax

-- Fairly low property taxes

-- The lowest number of government bureaucrats

-- Nevada is a right-to-work state, a tax limitation state and has strong regulatory flexibility statutes

Negative aspects of Nevada's record:

-- A mixed record to health-care mandates and regulations

-- High unemployment taxes

-- High electricity costs

-- A high crime rate and high consumption-based taxes

Nicole Koch, owner of Brickhouse Girls Cleanup Co., said getting her small business started was relatively free of bureaucracy, but is still cost a lot coming out of her own pocket.

"It was a little expensive. I have an LLC, so I had to pay $250 to the Secretary of State's office for that. Then I had a bunch of paperwork drawn up by my accountant, that was $400. My general liability insurance is $3,000 a year and my workers' compensation is about $2,000 a year."

The No. 1 state is South Dakota. Wyoming, Washington and Michigan rounded out the top five. Bottoming out were California and Washington, D.C. The entire report is available online at www.sbecouncil.org.

-- Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.