Comments about ‘Out-of-state firms' interest in Utah still going strong’

they're still coming to take a look despite our liquor laws. Imagine that! Further evidence that we don't need to change them. Having lower drunk driving stats is a positive selling point

Utah's liquor laws are peculiar, but have little to do with a company's decision regarding whether to locate in Utah. Factors such as Utah's central location for distribution to western markets; the younger age of our workforce and a comparison of overall operating costs play a much larger role. Concerns about Utah's comparative education ratings are much, much more important than liquor laws. Liquor laws have some impact on the ability to attract key executives, but keep in mind that most of the labor force is already located in Utah.

I have some concern over the huge incentives that have been approved under Governor Huntsman's watch to attract firms to Utah. While such incentives do play a role when multiple sites rate pretty much the same, I fear that we may be paying huge incentives to companies who would have located here anyway. Fortunately, Utah uses an incentive model that scales incentives to the amount of taxes that a company will pay over time. I do recommend that the economic model for these incentives be independently reviewed from time to time to assure its accuracy since political pressure to show economic success can sometimes influence these models.