Report: Idaho has 19th-best business tax climate

Idaho has the 19th-best tax climate in the U.S., according to the latest edition of the State Business Tax Climate Index released Tuesday by the Tax Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan tax policy research organization.

The Gem State's rank dropped one place from its 18th-place ranking last October.

The Index, in its 11th edition, measures how well structured each state's code is by analyzing more than 100 tax variables in five different categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes.

States are punished for overly complex, burdensome, and economically harmful tax codes but are rewarded for transparent and neutral tax codes which do not distort business decisions. A state's ranking can rise or fall significantly not only because of its own actions, but also because of changes or reforms made in other states.

The breakdown of Idaho's ranking this year is as follows (1st is best, 50th is worst):

* Idaho's overall State Business Tax Climate ranking, 19th

* Corporate tax structure, 21st

* Individual income tax structure, 24th

* Sales tax structure, 22nd

* Property tax structure, third

* Unemployment insurance tax structure, 46th.

Wyoming has the highest overall State Business Tax Climate ranking.