Good afternoon,
Wilmington received two pieces of good news in the last week. Insurance company Salem Mutual and business services giant CSC have announced plans to add operations in the city.
Salem Mutual plans to purchase a building in downtown, while CSC is buying the historic Pennsylvania Railroad Building near the Wilmington Train Station.
CSC could have expanded anywhere in the nation but in recent decades chose northern Delaware, specifically areas west of Wilmington. Now, it is returning to the city.
Both companies did not make these moves only out of a sense of civic obligation. The numbers had to work and finding younger employees with the right skillsets often requires convenient access to SEPTA rail service or the hundreds of new apartments in downtown and the riverfront.
The challenge for state and local governments is to remain focused on a competitive business climate.
The business climate will need constant attention, although I do not subscribe to the practice of a couple of groups that cherry-pick “bottom of the nation ratings” to the exclusion of more positive info.
One thing that would help is lowering the top personal income tax rate by a small amount each year. Based on recent surpluses, Delaware should have been doing this for the past few years.
Every year, more and more middle-income taxpayers pay that 6.6 percent top rate as their hard work in their business or occupation continues to pay off.
\It is true that the state’s overall tax rate is among the lowest in the nation, but that top. income tax rate sticks out like a sore thumb since the 6.6 rate kicks in at a modest $60,000.
Of course, we have legislators who want to impose a couple of additional tax brackets for the wealthiest Delawareans. Never mind that most in the super-rich left long ago for Florida or Pennsylvania.
Here’s to a productive day. This newsletter returns on Thursday and Friday.
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