The Tax Foundation has done a study on which states are best suited for businesses ... and those that are set on punishing the achievers. The study ranked the "business-friendliness" of the states' tax systems based on five different aspects: corporate, individual income, sales, unemployment insurance and property taxes. The states with the best tax systems were "business-neutral, broad based, and transparent, and that states whose systems most reflected this ideal were the most competitive."

Want to know the states that met this criteria? In descending order ...

-- South Dakota
-- Wyoming
-- Alaska
-- Nevada
-- Florida
-- Montana
-- New Hampshire
-- Delaware
-- Washington
-- Utah

My home state of Georgia (for now) is bordered by Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Caroline and ... Florida. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation reports that Georgia's business tax climate has become worse .. moving from 27th to 29th in the nation. That's a dangerous trend when Florida, with it's 5th most business-friendly tax climate is just down I-75. The only neighboring state that ranks worse than Georgia would be North Carolina. In the meantime property owners in Atlanta were just hit with a 45% property tax increase.

At least Georgia isn't at the bottom of the list. The states that ranked absolute worst for businesses were New Jersey, New York and California. Hmmmm ... could that be why we so many people from New York and Jersey in Florida?

Now ... speaking of California, perhaps they see the problem and are getting ready to take some action. A commission studying California's tax structure has come up with some ideas:

• Repeal all sales and corporate taxes
• Flatten the income tax rate
• Reduce the tax burden on the high-achievers a/k/a the "wealthy."
• Levy a new tax on business net receipts.

Democrats are already attacking the recommendations. What's not to like? Well .. right there at the front of the list would be, as the critics present it, letting the "super-wealthy .. off the hook from paying their fair share." Oh how the left likes that "fair share" line. In the meantime the producers and high-achievers continue to move out of Taxifornia. The left will never learn.