Florida Gov. Rick Scott
When most people think of Florida, they probably imagine Disney World, condos and orange juice. And Florida’s economy traditionally has been driven by tourism, real estate and agriculture.
But you may be surprised to learn that Florida’s new leading industries include high technology, aerospace and the industry you are most interested in – the life sciences.
These three sectors make up the new frontier of Florida’s economy.
In fact, Florida now has the second fastest growing biotech industry in the U.S. Every day in Florida, doctors, researchers and technicians work to unravel some of the most complex medical mysteries of our time – like AIDs, alzheimer’s and autism.
Florida first rose to national prominence as a biotech hub in 2003 when the Scripps Research Institute announced it would build a major new campus in South Florida.
Since then, Max Planck Florida, Sanford-Burnham, VGTi and many more biotech companies have come to Florida and are conducting cutting edge research in our state.
In addition to expanding our understanding of chronic health conditions and diseases that destroy our quality of life, these companies are also having significant impact on the economy of our state.
Since 2007, the number of biotech companies in our state has more than doubled. And with the increasing number of companies have come more jobs: biotech employment is up 150 percent in Florida since 2007.
In recent years, Florida has leapt ahead of the competition to become the new location for biotechnology innovation and business development.
An emphasis on creating biotech clusters has paved the way for biotech companies looking to invest in Florida.
As governor, I am committed to making Florida the Number 1 state in the nation for business.
This year, Chief Executive Magazine ranked Florida as the third best state for business. I can tell you we are not settling for no. 3, I am committed to making Florida the Number 1 state to start, grow or move a business.
There are three reasons you should consider making your business part of Florida’s biotechnology business cluster:
• competitive labor costs
• low taxes
• and reduced regulation.
On labor costs: Florida’s average annual biotech wage is $67-thousand dollars, compared to over $100-thousand dollars in states like California.
On taxes: Florida has no personal income tax, compared to an 8 percent tax or more in many other life science states.
And our corporate income tax rate is well below our competition at 5.5 percent. however, I am personally committed to reducing it to zero. this year we already have eliminated it for roughly half the businesses that paid it.
On regulation: during the past few months, we have also worked to streamline government, reduce burdensome regulations and reorganize our state economic development agency.
For example, Florida has recently eliminated duplicative oversight of medical device manufacturers.
Through our efforts to reduce the size and cost of government, and make it more efficient, I am confident Florida will be the number one place to start, grow or move a business.
I invite you to consider Florida for locating or expanding your businesses. Whether you have a manufacturing facility, an R&D center or wanting to conduct clinical trials, I’m sure you’ll find Florida can provide a great return on your investment.