Corporate Law Blog

Survey shows Kentucky needs improvement in “business friendliness”

Getting a business off the ground is no easy matter. Regardless of what state you do business in, there are going to be challenges, but some states make it a bit easier for entrepreneurs than others. According to a recent survey, Kentucky doesn’t rank that highly overall when in this area. The Thumbtack’s Small Business Friendliness Survey found that small business owners throughout the state give the state an overall grade of C+.

The areas evaluated by the survey include: ease of compliance and effectiveness of enforcement of professional licensing rules; ease of using government websites to comply with regulations; and tax fairness. While the 116 small businesses that responded to the survey gave Kentucky an A grade in response to whether the pay the right share of taxes, they graded the state at a B- in the area of professional licensing compliance. Even worse, the state received a D+ for the difficulty in utilizing government websites to manage regulatory compliance. 

This year’s results show that business owners feel things have gone downhill since last year, when the state ranked an A- for its overall performance.

Although the survey is not entirely consistent as to scores in each area, it is still a reminder that more work needs to be done to help entrepreneurs navigate their legal obligations when it comes to starting and maintaining a business. For those who want to ensure they have solid guidance in managing their business, of course, the advice of experienced legal counsel is indispensible.