It’s a well-touted stat that Florida is a good option for those looking at tax-friendly domiciles. And according to a report released Wednesday by the Tax Foundation, the Sunshine State is the fourth-most competitive state in the nation when it comes to tax code.

The State Business Tax Climate Index from the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation looked at how well-structured each state’s tax code is by looking at variables in three metrics: corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance.

States were knocked down for overly complex or burdensome tax codes and bumped up for transparent tax structures.

Florida was among the top in the nation in three categories, and took gold in one. Florida has the most competitive individual income tax structure in the country, according to the report. The state came in No. 2 for unemployment insurance tax structure, No. 10 for property tax structure, No. 19 for corporate tax structure and No. 28 for sales tax structure.

“Substantive state tax reform has gained a lot of momentum over the past few years,” said Foundation Director of State Projects Scott Drenkard in a statement. “The stagnation of our federal tax code means that policymakers are turning to state codes to boost their national and global competitiveness. The state codes are ripe for reform and it’s encouraging to see so many states taking action.”

Many states are moving towards simplified tax systems, and some are moving to a flat tax for individual income tax brackets, according to Tax Foundation. States are also lessening taxes on capital.

The nation’s most competitive states? Wyoming at No. 1, South Dakota at No. 2, and Alaska at No. 3.

Louisiana has the least competitive tax code in the U.S., according to the report. Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island round out the bottom four states in the nation.

Source: Orlando Sentinel