HUNTSVILLE — During the Madison County Republican Men's Club monthly meeting on Saturday morning, Secretary of State candidate Caroleene Dobson discussed her planned support for both small and large businesses across Alabama if elected.
Dobson called small businesses the "backbone" of the state's economy and pledged to "streamline services" to reduce fees for owners.
"I promise to take the office and view it through the eyes of a small business owner," she said. "Around 35% of the people in our state live outside of municipal boundaries. Small businesses are also suffering, and they're closing. It's getting harder and harder for small businesses to start to grow and to pass from generation to generation."
"I pledge to streamline services to reduce fees. It currently costs $100 to update your address if you have an LLC with the Secretary of State's office. I want to make it easier, more accessible and more affordable for small businesses to operate throughout the state."
Dobson called for making the state more attractive to large businesses and corporations through improved business and tax codes.
"We're not going to ignore big business either. We have some amazing success stories," Dobson noted. "A lot of businesses here in this county that got off the ground through God's blessing and a lot of hard work have made it big. They have scopes of business that are international and local. We would be shocked at how few of the Alabama corporations based or headquartered here are actually incorporated in Alabama. Most of them are incorporated in Delaware or New York, and this made sense back in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Delaware and New York had business codes that were very business-friendly. They had judiciaries that were conducive to business growth."
"Now, you're seeing throughout the country, corporations that were incorporated in these jurisdictions, unincorporate from Delaware and New York," continued Dobson. "But where are they reincorporating? Texas, Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming. Not because these states are better than Alabama. In fact, Alabama was recently ranked number one in the nation for land-use freedom. It's just because they're state leadership has been focused on trying to be innovative."
"I want to work with our legislature. I want to work with Coach Tuberville's Secretary of Commerce to make sure that we're competitive," stressed Dobson. "We have a Republican super-majority in our legislature. We're going to have Coach at the helm. There is no reason we should not be the number one destination for business incorporation."
"And this makes a difference, because it means that these businesses are even more invested in this state, in the future of this state, and in our kids' futures and opportunities," added Dobson.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every day.
