Taxing numbers for many, but not Nevada

All those local officials who have touted Nevada as a tax haven for business owners fleeing the Golden State have one more statistic to add to their arsenal.

Nevada ranked fifth overall in the nation for best tax climate, according to the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index 2006. California ranked 40th.

The index, released in March, put Wyoming at the top of the list for a business-friendly tax environment. South Dakota came in second, followed by Alaska. I know what you're thinking ... nobody wants to live there. Which is probably why their tax rates are so good. Nevada is behind No. 4, Florida. Rounding out the bottom are New Jersey and New York.

Nevada's scores:

Business tax index rank: 1

Individual income tax index rank: 7

Sales and gross receipts tax index rank: 47

Unemployment insurance tax index rank: 38

Wealth and property tax index rank: 11

The Tax Foundation issued a warning to governments with budget surpluses that attempt to attract more business to their states with hefty tax incentives and subsidies. The company may build but then bail in a few years, laying off workers (also known as voters).

Incentives shouldn't cover for a bad tax policy, say tax writers Curtis Dubay and Scott Hodge. Policy makers should instead make long-term fixes to improve the state's competitiveness.

For information on this index visit www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/78.html.

Darrin Berger, of Hannafin Design Associates, was registered as a Nevada licensed architect on June 7.

Berger, 40, has worked with Hannafin Design since February 2005. He earned his master's degree in architecture from the University of Utah in 1997 and his bachelor's of science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1992. He is a fourth-generation Carson City native and a 1983 graduate of Carson High.

"We are very pleased and proud of him," said Art Hannafin, managing partner.

Berger and his wife, Natalie, who is a social worker at St. Mary's Hospice, have a 6-year-old daughter, Samantha, and 7-month-old twins Robert and Alexandra.

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.