TAMPA Attorney General Bill McCollum chose Thursday Tax Day to unveil his gubernatorial campaign's economic platform. He proposed trimming the state's corporate income tax by 1 percent to 4.5 percent and exempting start-up businesses entirely for 10 years to spur economic growth. The tax provides less than 5 percent of total state tax revenue, and McCollum said the missing funds would be offset by business growth. The tax cut was part of the economic platform, 'Real Solutions. New Jobs,' which the GOP frontrunner rolled out in Tampa with former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and businessman Steve Forbes at his side. He also appeared in Miami. 'Over a period of six years, the state of Florida will grow 500,000 new jobs,' McCollum said of his plan. Enacted in 1971, the state's 5.5 percent rate ranks 39th among states that tax corporate income, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., tax research group. The group also ranked Florida fifth among the Tax Foundation's best business tax climate states in 2010. McCollum and Forbes said the state lagged in recruiting high-tech and research firms and venture capitalists, who could diversify its dependence on tourism and agriculture. Some of McCollum's other strategies: lowering property taxes; exempting high-tech business equipment and infrastructure costs from sales taxes; expanding the manufacturing machinery and equipment tax exemption; giving tax credits for research; and rolling back business regulations. Too many businesses struggle with litigation costs, particularly medical malpractice suits, which drive up premiums and limit medical firms from growing, he said. 'We need to have meaningful, significant litigation reform,' he said. He also said some state regulatory tasks that are duplicated by the federal government need to be weeded out, such as medical device plant inspections. 'Litigation, lawsuit abuse, taxes: These things hurt,' Forbes said. 'Sensible things. We're not reinventing the wheel here.' McCollum didn't spend much time discussing Republican rivals, Sen. Paula Dockery of Lakeland and Naples businessman Rick Scott. He instead pointed out differences in his economic philosophy and those of chief Democratic rival Alex Sink, who he said is opposed to litigation reform. 'She's made statements to the effect that we need to hold Tallahassee accountable for growing jobs,' he said of the state's chief financial officer. Sink is also campaigning on a job-growth platform that emphasizes research and development, small business growth, education and boosting partnerships between universities and the private sector. 'Bill McCollum is continuing his tired policies that haven't worked for the decades he was in Congress, and he's not laying out anything new to move the economy forward,' Sink campaign spokeswoman Kyra Jennings said. 