The recent national report by the Milken Institute showing Maine moving quickly toward the middle of the pack on the cost of doing business was good news, but not only for the obvious reasons. If it is true that Maine is now the least expensive state in the Northeast to run a business, as the report concludes, Maine finally can start to talk about strengths and weaknesses beyond its tax levels.

A surprising finding in the report is that Maine’s tax burden (state and local taxes as a percentage of personal income) ranks only 11th highest in the nation, with the numbers, according to the institute, coming from the U.S. Census Bureau. The four other measures used to conclude that Maine ranks 19th overall on the cost of business were as follows: wages (ranked 40th highest); electricity costs (11th); industrial rent (30th); and office rent (36th).

That electricity ranking, while still high, was encouraging because it is moving down and helped Maine drop from its overall rank last year of 16th. For those keeping score, the new state with the 16th highest cost for doing business is neighboring New Hampshire. (If only it were more like Maine and kept its taxes lower.)

The drop from 16th to 19th – that’s among the largest five reductions in the report – demonstrates that Maine can get control of its business costs. Credit goes not to one party or one administration but to Republicans and Democrats who have gotten the message that Maine’s business costs have been one factor among several hurting the state’s prosperity. It should encourage the state’s political leaders to recognize they actually can work together effectively now and then.

Whether Maine ranks 19th, 16th or 12th, a result of the Milken report should be to get Maine to stop blaming high taxes solely for its lack of business activity. Portland, with the same state taxes as everywhere else in Maine and relatively high local taxes but a vibrant business climate suggests the limits of focusing so heavily on tax burden. Maine has a lot more work to do on transportation and health care costs, research and development and education, its productivity and regulatory policies.

Nonetheless, the Milken report says Maine is moving in the right direction and the investments that it has made in recent years can be seen in a better business climate. That’s a welcome affirmation on the way to a stronger economy.