Washington Passes 9.9 Percent Millionaire Tax
Seattle’s political class might want to pour another cup of coffee before reading this one.
The same week that Washington Democrats pushed through a new tax on millionaires, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz announced that he and his family were leaving Seattle after more than four decades to settle in Florida.
The timing immediately attracted attention online.
DEVELOPING: Starbucks founder Howard Schultz announces his family is leaving Seattle for Florida on the same day Democrats passed an income tax in Washington state.
Starbucks company moves to Nashville
The exodus of wealth is underway. Democrats killed WA’s economy pic.twitter.com/4O8Dk0tPaI
– Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) March 11, 2026
The backlash came after Schultz posted a lengthy public message reflecting on his decades in Seattle and the business he helped build there.
“For those of you who know us well, we have entered the “retirement” phase of our lives.
Schultz described the move as part of a new chapter for him and his wife, Sheri, after decades spent building Starbucks and raising their family in Seattle.
“We have moved to Miami for our next adventure together. We are enjoying the South Florida sunshine and its appeal to our East Coast children as they raise their own families.”
The post itself reads like a farewell tour through Schultz’s history with the city. He remembers arriving in Seattle in the early 1980s to work for what was then a small coffee company and watching it grow into a global brand.
“The company’s history is tied to the foundations, walls and floor of our first store located in the city’s historic market. »
Schultz also highlighted Starbucks’ deep roots in the city, writing about the Pacific Northwest employees and entrepreneurs who helped make the company what it is today.
But the announcement also comes as left-leaning Washington enters a fiscal environment that destroys incentives for high earners and also gradually erodes incentives for the middle class.
Democratic lawmakers recently approved a new 9.9% tax on incomes above $1 million, a rate that analysts say would place Washington among the highest-taxed states in the country. Add in the top federal tax rate of 37 percent, and the total burden on incomes above $1 million could exceed 46 percent.
Economists have been warning for years that when the tax burden reaches this level, mobility often becomes the deciding factor.
“If wealthy individuals and businesses are suddenly faced with a large tax bill, the natural question arises whether they will stay and pay the bill or leave without paying the bill. »
Washington has experienced this dynamic before. During past wealth tax debates in the state, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos left Seattle for Florida, taking with him one of the largest tax bases in the country.
Today, Schultz makes the same choice.
Learn more: Battle in Seattle: Amazon against the socialists
Trouble brewing for Starbucks – Chain announces store closures
At the same time, Starbucks’ founder moved to Florida and the company expanded into a state with a radically different tax and regulatory environment.
Starbucks recently announced plans to establish a regional office in the Nashville area as part of its North American expansion strategy. The office will anchor the company’s growth in the Southeast and place another major company presence in Tennessee.
“With these growth plans, we view Nashville, Tennessee as an ideal location to open an office and establish a more strategic presence in the Southeast region of the United States,” said Mike Grams, Starbucks chief operating officer.
State officials also highlighted the reasons why companies continue to relocate operations to Tennessee, citing the state’s business-friendly regulatory climate and lack of income tax.
The contrast between the two states is difficult to ignore. Liberal lawmakers in Washington are moving forward with one of the highest tax rates in the country, while businesses and entrepreneurs continue to expand or relocate to more economical, freedom-loving states that advocate the opposite approach.
Schultz presented his move as a personal decision related to retirement and family. But the broader trend emerging across the country remains the same one that wealth tax critics have been warning about for years.
When taxes rise enough, capital and talent have a way of finding somewhere else to go.
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