By Hank Russell
A recently released report from the Public Policy Institute of New York included a survey that found that more than seven out of 10 business owners believe the state is headed in the wrong direction and more than half feel the state’s elected officials do not understand or care about their business.
In its “Blueprint for New York — Creating a Roadmap for Change,” only 21% of business leaders surveyed said New York is on the right track, while 72% believe the state is not. In addition, only 3% said state politicians and regulators understand and support their businesses, while 54% said they don’t. In addition, only 2% said the state fully represents their interests, and 51% said the electeds did not.
When asked about the economic conditions in the state, only 6% said they were“very good” and 22% considered them to be “good.” Forty-eight percent said economic conditions were “fair,” while 24% believed they were “poor.”
One of the respondents, a manufacturing company executive, said. “We are focused on expanding our business … in any other state but here.”
The reason for the business leaders’ attitudes may be justified. The institute cited a CNBC report that ranked New York State 22nd overall, but the worst in business climate. US News & World Report ranked New York 23rd overall, but 44th when it comes to the economy. A Chief Executive poll listed the Empire State as 49th in its annual “Best & Worst States of Business,” while the Tax Foundation had New York last in the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
The PPINY found that New York had the eleventh-highest state business tax in 2023 at 5.9%. That is higher than the national average of 4.7%.
“The tax climate here affects just about everything in our organization,” said an industry executive.
Moreover, New York was second to California as the most regulated state in the U.S., with 300,095 regulations on the books, according to a 2024 report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Some examples of regulatory burdens include 26,218 state tax regulations — nearly four times the national average of 6,980. New York has 34,365 regulations on transportation, far more than the average of 6,317 nationwide. Labor and workforce development regulations totaled 16,627 in New York, 6,968 on average in the U.S.
The Mercatus Center also listed the 10 most regulated industries in the state:
- Waste management and remediation services
- Insurance carriers and related activities
- Credit intermediation and related activities
- Educational services
- Paper manufacturing
- Ambulatory health care services
- Chemical manufacturing
- Social assistance’
- Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
- Food and beverage stores
“Regulations here are disastrous on our ability to grow,” said a small business owner.
One industry representative who spoke to the survey takers called navigating the government permitting process “a giant tangled web of bureaucracy that no one can seem to navigate.”
Those surveyed were asked to rank the state’s major factors from major weakness to major advantages. The major weaknesses they found were business climate, corporate tax rate, occupancy of construction costs, labor costs and energy capacity and cost. When asked what five issues mattered the most to them, they listed reducing state and local government regulations, reducing business taxes, taking a more active role in business retention, a greater emphasis on addressing power capacity and supply and better support for entrepreneurs and startups.
They were also asked what state government can fo help grow the economy and create more jobs. The top five priorities, according to the results reported by PPINY, include the following:
- Review regulations to make them more business-friendly.
- Improve the state’s financial sustainability.
- Stay out of the way and let the market determine the economy.
- Give state agencies a more active role.
- Promote public-private partnerships to improve the business environment.
One industry executive had this to say about the state’s current business climate: “This is a painful environment to be functioning in.”