Business owners remain cautious

Florida's economy may be recovering, but business owners remain concerned about making capital outlays.

That's the sense Jack Ablin gets when he's traveling around the state, as he did recently making stops in Naples and Sarasota to talk to entrepreneurs and other clients. Ablin is executive vice president and chief investment officer for BMO Private Bank.

“Among business leaders I still see a sense of reticence. They're unwilling to take incremental business risk not knowing what our nation's future holds,” Ablin says.

In particular, some business owners tell him they have doubts about the recovery, even though signs of it abound. “There may be a growing sense of skepticism of whether this recovery is for real. What are we going to be left with? What's our money worth anyway? These guys have lived through the downturn and that's left some residual battle scars.”

Ablin says he suspects business owners' reluctance to commit to significant capital investment is a result of the uncertain regulatory and tax environment in the U.S. “My sense is that the longer we can keep this recovery going, the more likely the freeze will slowly thaw,” he says.

On the plus side, Florida has zero state income tax and is attractive to foreigners with stronger currencies, such as Europeans and Canadians. “This housing recovery though seems real to me,” he says. “Most of our clients in the area and most professionals agree that things are looking better.”