Tennessee doesn’t have many coal mining jobs, but Gov. Bill Haslam was selling the state to a room full of coal executives Tuesday, reports the Kingsport Times-News.
“We’re not blessed with quite as much coal or as much oil or natural gas as other folks are, but the little we have is an important part of our economy,” Haslam, a Republican, told members of the Eastern Coal Council on the final day of their annual conference.
“We think it’s about 17,000 (energy sector) jobs in Tennessee…It enables us to be competitive with other folks in attracting industry who want low-cost reliable power.”
Haslam trumpeted Tennessee’s low-tax environment, business-friendly regulations and workers’ compensation reform efforts.
“For those of you who don’t live in Tennessee and live close, if you move to Tennessee, we don’t have an income tax,” Haslam told the group at the MeadowView Marriott. “You do the math and move to Tennessee. We would love to have you…We’ve cut the sales tax on groceries and the inheritance tax…Local taxes and state taxes together, we think we’re the third lowest state in taxes.”