John Cook’s TechFlash at the Puget Sound Business Journal has details about a state-sponsored special section in the Sept, 6 issue of Fortune magazine designed to sell the state to businesses.

But among the evidence that Washington state offers both beauty and brains is this: No income tax.

The ad copy will be true when it runs but perhaps not by November if Initiative 1098 passes. That’s the high-income income tax that will appear on the general election ballot.

According to the state’s Department of Commerce, the total number of registered businesses in the state has more than doubled in the last 15 years. That’s because of the favorable business climate. The state has no income tax and energy costs are below the national average.