The new state business tax climate index is out from the Tax Foundation, and Minnesota ranks #42 out of the fifty states for business climate. At least we have improved since 2003, when we were #46. Maybe most lucky for us, Iowa is #45, Nebraska #43 and Wisconsin #39. Small differences could be made up for by, perhaps, having lakes and state-subsidized sports teams. That might even convince #30 North Dakota.

South Dakota, on the other hand, is #2, with no corporate income tax. Maybe it's just a windy Mississippi?

Also worth noting, Minnesota ranks #19 on this list for its property tax index. It seems everyone wants property tax relief, yet that's the score for business climate on which Minnesota does best. A high top-bracket corporate income tax rate (9.8%) is a real downer for the state, but it could be worse. You could be Iowa:

Iowa can once again trace its poor overall ranking of 45th to its income tax rates on both personal and corporate income. They stand out as a warning to entrepreneurs. Individuals face an escalating series of tax rates that hit 8.98% over $58,500. Only a handful of states tax any source of income at such a high rate, and even those high-tax states usually apply it to much higher levels of income. Iowa�s 12% corporate income tax is in a league of its own. No other state has a double-digit rate on the books.

Both Iowa and Minnesota have both corporate and individual alternative minimum tax provisions.