Governor Kaine Announces Virginia Ranked "Most Business-Friendly State" a Second Time

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced today that Virginia has been designated as America’s most business-friendly state in the annual independent study Top Ten Pro-Business States 2006: America’s Economy in the 21st Century. The evaluation of state and federal economic development policies was produced by a top U.S. corporate relocation firm, Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc.

Last August, Virginia also placed first among the 50 states in a ranking of the "Best States for Business" by Forbes.com, the official Internet site of the Forbes family of business publications. That review considered multiple objective measurements, including business costs, tax burden, regulatory climate, quality of the workforce, and recent economic growth.

“This recognition from Pollina, based on an examination of 28 objective measurements, validates the results of our hard work to create a business friendly environment,” said Governor Kaine. “In Virginia, we work hard to support our existing businesses while working creatively to recruit new investment and jobs. Our incentives are rational and performance-based, and we emphasize our diverse workforce, top-notch educational resources, and Virginia’s high-quality, low-tax business climate as we compete for new jobs and investment.”

The Pollina study evaluated states based on factors including taxes, human resources, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, workers compensation legislation and jobs lost or gained. The evaluation also considered 14 state government-controlled factors based on incentive programs and state economic development departments. Other states rounding out the top five include South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina and Utah. Virginia also held the top spot in the Pollina study in 2003, and ranked second from 2004 to 2006.

“Virginia has benefited from increased government spending on defense and is pressing to stay aggressive in other industries in order to maintain a diversified economy,” said Dr. Ronald Pollina, president of Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate. “Virginia’s business-friendly tax environment, location, market access, education, and infrastructure are especially enhanced by one of the strongest and most professional state economic development agencies in the nation. The people of Virginia should be very proud of the effort their governor and legislators have made to foster quality job opportunities for them. Virginia is clearly a winner.”

Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate is a full-service brokerage and consulting firm representing corporations in real estate matters on a national and international basis. A summary of the Pollina Report may be found at www.pollina.com, and the full report may be ordered by phone at (847) 685-9000.