Why Texas is the Corporate Destination

GTT: Gone to Texas

Did you know that every year more Americans move to Texas than to any other state? To use a popular acronym dating back to the first mass migration to Texas in the 1800s, they are GTT, short for Gone to Texas.

Let's take a look at the numbers. During the period from 2005 to 2013, 4.8 million Americans left their home state and made Texas their new home. Californians led the march to Texas, along with significant migration from New York. When you add in the additional 1.1 million foreign immigrants who moved to Texas during that period, it works out to be about 345 new Texans arriving each and every day.

Houston's Harris County is the new home to most of the domestic immigration from other states. But other Texas cities, especially some of the traditional suburban towns, are now counted among the fastest-growing cities in the US. For example, in 2015, Georgetown, Texas — north of Austin — was America's fastest-growing city — it grew in population by 7.8% year-over-year. New Braunfels, Texas — situated between Austin and San Antonio — is America's second-fastest growing city. Other population growth hot spots on the national top 10 list are Frisco, Texas — located outside of Dallas-Fort Worth — and Pearland, Texas, just south of Houston.

Advantages of Starting or Moving your Business Operations to Texas

Increasingly, businesses are following suit. Many California and New York companies are now establishing branch offices or manufacturing operations in the Lone Star State or, in many cases, moving their operations entirely. As a result, Texas continues to grow: if it were a standalone nation, its economy would be nearly the same size as Canada.

Many businesses which began in California's Silicon Valley, like Google and Apple Computer, have opened branch offices in Austin. In fact, there are so many new arrivals, especially startups, that the region has been dubbed "Silicon Hills" (named for Austin's location as the gateway to the Texas Hill Country).

So what are the reasons businesses want to move to Texas?

Among many considerations, businesses are attracted to the relatively low cost of real estate, business-friendly taxation (with no personal income tax), a pro-business regulatory environment, a growing population of young consumers, and a talented and educated workforce migrating inbound from other states.

Despite these advantages, many stereotypes about Texas exist.

Did you know…

It's not all about oil and gas in Texas anymore. Although Texas does still lead domestic production in both, the Lone Star state also leads the nation in renewable wind energy production — with renewable sources providing an average 11% of Texas' energy needs in 2015.

In contrast to the oil bust era of the 1980s, Texas' economy is now highly diversified. For example, the Texas Medical Center in Houston is the world's largest, home to more than 50 leading-edge healthcare facilities and research institutions, including the world-famous M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Despite Texas' reputation for horse riding and driving over-sized pickup trucks, Texas may be the first state to open a high-speed rail link (between Houston and Dallas), beating California by years if not decades.

The Can Do Texas Spirit

Texas takes a lot of pride in its businesses and business leaders. The can-do spirit of entrepreneurship is celebrated in this state with stories of business greats, from Jesse H. Jones who kept Houston's economy afloat during the Great Depression to Herb Kelleher, who founded Southwest Airlines based on a business plan sketched on the back of a cocktail napkin.

Many who arrive in Texas are pleasantly surprised by how welcoming the business community can be for newcomers, whether you are moving an existing business, or, in that great Texas tradition, starting over from scratch.

The bottom line is that generally speaking, Texans want to help you succeed. Many of the banks are highly business-oriented, and there is an active VC community in Austin, supporting tech and healthcare startups.

Texas Offers Predictable Government Budgets with Low Taxes

The way the Texas state government conducts its affairs is markedly different from other states; you could say it operates more like a business.

Unlike other states, the Texas legislature only meets every other year, and for a very limited time at that (just a few weeks). According to many Texans, the less time legislators are in session in Austin, the less time that they have to spend our money or cause other trouble.

As a result, all legislative changes have to wait for two years to go through a very intense, time-constrained legislative process. Only the most pressing issues make the cutoff. Contrast that to the seemingly non-stop legislative session activity taking place in other state capitols, like Sacramento in California, Albany in New York, or Trenton in New Jersey.

Importantly, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts prepares a two-year balanced budget for the legislative session, based on income projections for the coming two fiscal years. Once the budget is passed, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts can recommend changes during the course of the two-year budget cycle to cut back spending if the state's income isn't matching the budget projections. The Texas State Constitution also mandates a budgetary rainy day fund, officially known as the Texas Economic Stabilization Fund or ESF. The current ESF balance is $9,715,000,000 for 2016, making it the largest such fund among the states. It is rarely touched.

Let's look at five more reasons why businesses are making the move to Texas.

Read more. https://formaspace.com/articles/technology-innovations/texas-corporate-destination/?utm_source=openpr&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=article-100516

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This release was published on openPR.