LV allure

Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 | 3 a.m.

With double-digit unemployment and home foreclosures putting a strain on Southern Nevada’s economy, now is the perfect time to launch an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the virtues of doing business in the Las Vegas Valley.

The Nevada Development Authority is on the right track with a new $1 million advertising initiative that seeks to lure business to Las Vegas from Southern California.

As reported last week by Richard Velotta for the online edition of the Las Vegas Sun, a sister publication of In Business Las Vegas, the authority is telling Southern California businesses that if they stay put, they can “kiss their assets goodbye.”

There is no doubt that this campaign, like prior recruiting efforts from Nevada, will ruffle feathers among California government leaders who have been encouraging companies to stay. But California has done its fair share of poaching over the years and has no room to complain.

In August 2004, less than a year after taking office, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Las Vegas as part of a national campaign to bring jobs to his state. Californians also have eagerly supported the growth of gaming in their state, putting them in direct competition with Las Vegas.

Las Vegas has several business advantages over Los Angeles. Businesses in Nevada don’t pay a corporate income tax, have lower workers’ compensation rates and enjoy a friendlier regulatory environment. There is no personal income tax in Nevada. These points and others are part of the latest ad campaign.

As Somer Hollingsworth, the authority’s president and CEO, told Velotta: “Business owners would be able to make more money, hire more employees and buy more equipment here. They could do more with their business in Nevada than they ever could in California.”

Those are all convincing reasons why businesses in Southern California could have better futures awaiting them in Las Vegas.