Kristi King, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – Would you be willing to move to get or keep a good job? How about if lower tax rates meant there was more money in it for you?

Virginia is using the lure of lower taxes and more business friendly regulations to win a game of tug-of-war over jobs with Maryland.

The latest company to choose the Commonwealth over the Free State is the big engineering and construction contractor, Bechtel Corp. The Examiner reports Bechtel is relocating 625 workers to Reston, Va. from Frederick, Md.

“We want jobs in Virginia and we’re willing to get them from any state,” Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell recently said on WTOP’s Ask the Governor program.

He also touts a business-friendly environment that includes lower tax rates and less burdensome regulations.

That while the chief executive officer of Maryland’s Chamber of Commerce tells The Examiner Maryland can’t compete with Virginia when it comes to taxes and workplace regulations.

Maryland’s personal income tax rate, for example, is nearly 10 percent when local “piggyback” taxes are added, while Virginia’s top rate is 5.75 percent before adding personal property taxes.

There might be more to Maryland losing jobs than bottom line numbers. McDonnell, noting that Montgomery County is home to many defense contractors, calls the move by the County’s Council to consider asking Congress to spend less money on war and more on the poor “stunning.”

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman chose Fairfax County for its headquarters over Maryland or D.C. A company spokesman tells The Baltimore Sun the decision was based in part on economic incentives offered by Virginia.

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin is head quartered in Bethesda, Md., and McDonnell says it’s more than welcome in Northern Virginia.

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