Rising Higher With Lower Taxes

November 21, 2022

Population, in-migration, adjusted gross income and more: this dynamic Southern Nevada city is growing in all the right ways while maintaining low taxes.

As emerging industry seeks the right conditions for growth, a whole new breed of city is rising to the forefront—pro-business, collaborative municipalities where public-private synergy drives economic development and where young skilled workers and high-growth industries feel at home.

One such city is Henderson, Nevada. The state’s second largest city and one of its fastest growing, Henderson has diversified its economy rapidly over the past few years, attracting robust investment in sectors including tech, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and business services. Today, companies like Google and Haas Automation, the world’s largest maker of machine tools, are finding the right fit in site selection, skilled workforce and swift distribution from a location that allows a half-day delivery to California ports.

Henderson is also the perfect fit for businesses seeking lower taxation.

“Lower taxes and reduced regulations are signature advantages bringing high-growth industries to Henderson,” according to Jared Smith, the city’s Director of Economic Development and Tourism. “Our lower rates increase business opportunity.”

Lower taxes spurring population rise.

Nevada is also growing—the nation’s fifth fastest growing state in 2020 and one of the nation’s top 10 for in-state migration in 2022. Research by the national Tax Foundation has found a correlation between population migration and lower taxes and sound tax structures, and in 2022 the Foundation ranked Nevada as #7 in the nation for overall best tax climate. The best way to describe taxes in Nevada is to start from zero—that is, zero taxes on personal and corporate income, along with zero franchise, inventory, inheritance, gift and estate and unitary taxes.

Those low tax rates are helping boost Nevada’s average adjusted gross income, which is also rising with the population. And Henderson, boasting the state’s highest income per capita, deploys an economic development policy that promotes the expansion of the tax base so that local tax rates remain low.

“Henderson is growing in population and offers a great quality of life that gets better every day, all without charging high taxes,” Smith points out. “Public-private collaboration is key. Henderson partners with industry to create prosperity.”

Visible, vibrant results

While strategic collaborations have driven high-volume, high-paying job creation at businesses like Google and Haas, collaborations have also helped to transform Henderson into a pro-sports hub where inviting public facilities like the Lifeguard Arena and the Dollar Loan Center serve as dual assets, venues for community activities as well as practice/games for a range of pro-sports teams. Henderson is now home to the headquarters or game facilities for teams from the NFL, AHL, WNBA, NBA G League and the IFL—quality of life assets for companies employing a younger skilled workforce.

A revitalized historic downtown district, creatively planned residential developments and a massive park and trail system are also drawing national praise and new growth.

“Here in Henderson, we have 297 days of sunny weather and all the right growing conditions for emerging industry,” Smith says.