Taxes, regulations rankle CEOs

Chief executives from some of the biggest companies nationwide agree with several Gulf Coast business leaders: The struggle against overregulation is real.

So real that the percentage of top executives in the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2016 U.S. CEO Survey who say they are “extremely concerned” about overregulation is up for the fifth straight year. And at 65%, the rate is at a seven-year high.

Also in the category of how business intersects with government, the survey asked CEOs to rank the top three priorities for federal officials. A solid majority, 73%, says the top priority should be to create a clearly understood and stable tax system. (On another question, 2% of U.S. CEOs responded that the country has achieved an effective tax system. Coffee Talk wonders: Who are the people who believe the tax system works?)

In a breakout of the survey, PwC quoted some CEOs on specific issues and questions. The CEOs quoted on tax reform were Denise Morrison with Campbell Soup Co. and Liz Smith with Tampa-based Bloomin' Brands. Smith says the tax issue goes deeper than sound bites.

“One thing that is misunderstood is the structure and the margin of the restaurant industry, which probably has the lowest profit per employee,” Smith says in the survey. “That limits the ability to absorb big hits to our cost structure. It's difficult to understand the impact taxes and regulations have on our margins, and we need to do a better job of educating people about that aspect of our industry.

After tax reform, other CEO priorities include a skilled and educated workforce; adequate physical and digital infrastructure; and safeguards around personal data.

And in a rebuke to a pair of topics currently generating headlines, the two issues that should be of lowest priority to the government, according to the CEO respondents, are greater income equality and workforce diversity and inclusiveness. Both of those scored less than 10%.