Florida's business leaders consider its livability to be one the state's biggest assets. Florida's moderate climate encourages a healthier, more active lifestyle. Recognized nationally for supporting business expansion, new investment and international trade, Florida makes the ideal place to come, to stay and grow your business.

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Low Business Costs

• Low 5.5 percent corporate tax, double weighted for sales.
• No state property tax.
• No tax on inventory.
• No sales and use tax on goods manufactured or produced in Florida for export outside the state.
• No sales/use tax on boiler fuels.
• No sales/use tax on electricity used in the manufacturing process.
• Sales and use tax exemptions on silicon technology-based industry transactions involving manufacturing or research equipment and on labor component of research and development expenditures.

Business Environment

• Stable tax structure, exceptional incentives and increased opportunities for global success.
• With close to $472 billion in gross state product, Florida's economy is ranked as the fourth largest in the Western Hemisphere and the 15th largest in the world.
• Florida's expedited environmental permitting provides a streamlined process.
• The American Electronics Association's Cyberstates 2003: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Tech Industry ranked Florida 3rd in high-tech exports and 4th in high-tech establishments. 
• Plants Sites and Parks ranked Florida number one in new business development in 2002.
• Site Selection's 2003 Executive Survey ranked Florida number four for State Business Climate. 
• The presence of nearly 70 licensed foreign banks and 14 world trade councils has attracted more than 90 countries to locate consular or trade offices in Florida.
• Eighteen Foreign Trade Zones.
• Florida has established foreign trade and investment offices in Canada, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Israel, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Transportation

• Utilizing an extensive highway and rail system, businesses can easily access all in-state markets and more than 60 percent of the U.S. population via overnight shipment.
• With 14 deepwater ports, all Florida businesses are within 90 miles of a seaport.
• Access to the second-largest Foreign Trade Zone network in the country, and the only one that offers space transportation through launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center.
• Twenty major commercial airports.
• Four interstates - I-95, I-75, I-10, I-4 are major corridors.
• Economic Development Transportation Fund - Up to $2 million for public transportation infrastructure improvements for companies expanding or relocating in Florida.

Labor

• Florida is a "right to work" state, with the lowest rate of manufacturing unionization in the United States.
• At more than seven million strong, Florida's workforce has grown more than four percent per year.
• Since 1990, one of every 13 new jobs in the U.S. was created in Florida.
• Quick Response Training program offers customized training to new and expanding companies – more than $29 million spent to train 45,000 workers since 1993.
• Network of 47 technical institutions and 28 community colleges.
• No Florida resident is more than 50 miles from an educational institution.
• Florida universities perform more than $500 million per year in sponsored research, working closely with business and industry to create cutting-edge technology.

Quality of Life

• Year-round sunshine, fresh air, clean water and an abundance of open space.
• Multitude of white sand beaches, world-class resorts, over 1,000 golf courses, as well as thousands of lakes, state parks and recreation areas.
• Some of the oldest historical sites in the country, including St. Augustine, America's oldest city, as well as international festivals, museums, and a myriad of cultural activities that mirror the diversity of the state.
• Florida is home to three NFL football teams, two NBA basketball teams, two NHL hockey teams and two major-league baseball teams.