Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. JULY 12. 2007 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
Where? At Dalton State.
Notes from the Georgia State Senate
New initiative aims to enhance
Georgia’s small business climate
By State Sen. Chip Pearson
Recently, I co-chaired a joint
meeting of the Senate and
House Economic Development
Committees at
the Capitol.
This was the
first in a series
of meetings to
take place
across the state
this summer that
will focus pri
marily on small business.
During this Small Business
Initiative, state legislators will
hear directly from entrepreneurs
and business leaders on how to
improve Georgia’s climate for
small business.
There is an incredible
amount of data out there sug
gesting that small businesses are
truly the backbone of our
nation's economy. If there are
too many obstacles that exist for
small businesses, especially
when it comes to policy, it is a
big negative for our economy.
The Facts
There were approximately
25.8 million businesses in the
U.S. in 2005, and 99.9 percent
had fewer than 500 employees.
Small businesses employ
over 50 percent of the total pri
vate sector (non-farm workers).
In the last decade, job cre
ation in small businesses fluctu
ated between 60 to 80 percent.
While companies with 500 or
more employees continue to
shed jobs, small business con
tinues to create new jobs.
Small businesses produce at
least 13 times as many patents
per employee than larger firms.
National statistics show
650,000 new businesses are cre
ated each year; unfortunately,
only 30 percent of these busi
nesses remain after five years.
There are approximately
500,000 incorporated business
es in Georgia; 97 percent of
these are small businesses with
less than 500 employees.
There were an estimated
29,547 new small businesses in
Georgia in 2005, which is an
increase of 22 percent from
2003 and significantly higher
than the U.S. rate of increase
(4.9 percent).
U.S. Census data ranks
Georgia #3 in the country for
increase in small businesses in
2003.
The Small Business Survival
Index 2006 ranks Georgia #25
in the policy environment for
entrepreneurship.
Now What?
Everyone seems to love
entrepreneurs and small busi
nesses, because everyone loves
hearing a nice rags-to-riches
story.
In addition, small businesses
are a vital part of our communi
ties, contributing goods and
services to local causes and tak
ing part in volunteer efforts. In
reality, small business owners in
the U.S. can be faced with high
taxes, strong regulation, red
tape, piles of paperwork and
many layers of government.
You’ll notice in the facts
above, our state is top ten in the
nation when it comes to new
businesses opening their doors
here. However, chief economist
of the Small Business &
Entrepreneurship Council
Raymond Keating has Georgia
ranked 25th in the nation in the
latest Small Business Survival
Index. The Index ranks the 50
states and the District of
Columbia according to some of
the major government-related
costs that affect investment,
entrepreneurship and small
business.
The Index uses several gov
ernment-imposed costs to factor
in its rankings, such as income
taxes and capital gains tax,
healthcare regulations, workers’
compensation and legal liabili
ty. For our state’s economy to
continue to flourish, we’ll need
to support an environment that
fosters the growth and success
of entrepreneurs and small busi
nesses.
A New Initiative
Currently, there is a great
deal of ongoing discussion
under the Gold Dome about tax
reform in our state.
Whether it is the removal of
the state income tax, local prop
erty taxes, ad valorem tax on
automobiles or limitations on
government taxation power, it is
safe to say that tax reform is on
the horizon in Georgia. In this
context, it occurred to me that
the taxes paid by small business
owners in our state should be
closely examined and perhaps
reformed in the years to come.
This was one of the motivating
factors for me and my fellow
legislators to organize the 2007
Small Business Initiative.
In the upcoming months, we
will hear directly from entrepre
neurs and business leaders on
how to improve Georgia’s cli
mate for small business.
These meetings will take
place in Atlanta, Tifton,
Savannah and other areas of the
state. We hope to hear as
many proposals as possible dur
ing these meetings, so we can
head into the 2008 legislative
session with some solid ideas
for new policy that will make
Georgia the number one state in
the U.S. for its small business
climate.
As it stands today, Georgia’s
pro-business environment
makes it one of the most desir
able places to open or expand a
business venture.
Our Small Business
Initiative will look to make our
business climate even better,
and I look forward to hearing
from the many experts, entre
preneurs and business leaders
who will attend these meetings.
This way, we can ensure that
our state remains one of the
driving forces of the U.S. econ
omy for many generations to
come.
[Please feel free to contact
Sen. Chip Pearson at his office
in Atlanta at 404.656.9221 or
by email at chip@team51.org.]
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Casey Warnock State Farm to the Pickens County Community and
extends an apology for the delay in reaching the paper.
Casey and his team opened the Agency on November 1 after
State Farm Agent Becky Denney retired. Casey's team is comprised
of Pickens County residents Jamie Caywood, Donna Fitts, and Lori
Thacker.
His team is licensed to service all of your Insurance and
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a Registered Representative, Casey also offers a variety of financial
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Evenings and weekends hours are available by appointment.
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Apply now and you’ll see that the sky really is the limit.
For more information or to apply, visit our website,
email admissions@daltonstate.edu, or call 706.272.4436.
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The sky’
Dalton State
650 College Drive I Dalton, GA 30720
706.272.4436/800.829.4436
www.daltonstate.edu
the limit.
Proud to be part of the University System of Georgia.