Taxes, Regulation, Housing Top Business Issues Per BizFed Survey

A survey of more than 700 business leaders in L.A. County found that taxes, government regulation and housing are their top concerns. The Los Angeles County Business Federation Pulse Poll found that 81 percent of the 710 business executives who responded to the poll cited taxes and fees as the biggest business issue for the eighth straight year. Government regulation and compliance was the No. 2 issue. But the surprise third-place issue was housing, cited by nearly 52 percent of respondents as a reason businesses and jobs leave L.A. County and California. “Business leaders are ringing the alarm bell on the housing crisis,” Tracy Hernandez, BizFed chief executive, said in a statement. “They’re drawing the connection between the high cost of housing and the county’s astronomically high poverty rate, as well as their evaluation of whether to relocate their business.” This marks the 10th annual poll for BizFed, a lobbying and advocacy group for business in L.A. County. “In BizFed’s first poll, taken in the midst of the financial meltdown in 2008, access to capital was the No. 1 concern of business. Just behind it was state and local budgets, which were plagued by deficits at the time,” David Fleming, founding chairman of BizFed, said in a statement. Now we see housing – already one of BizFed’s key advocacy issues – rising to the top.” The survey also found that business leaders give the Trump administration mixed reviews and believe transportation and infrastructure remain high priorities.