Move Over Bezos, Starbucks Founder Also Flees to Florida Over Looming Tax?

You will never, or rarely, find Starbucks Founder and former CEO (he's retired) Howard Schultz shying away from supporting various politically liberal causes--until it comes to his money.  Can't blame him, though.  Now, he's going to be rubbing elbows with Jeff Bezos in Florida.

   Starbucks Founder Flees WA, just Ahead of Potential Income Tax

For starters, don't call it a millionaire's tax. That's Democrat party window dressing. and forget all the alleged tax breaks and low-wage earner and business 'supports' Gov. Ferguson claims will happen if the Senate approves the Millionaire's tax, it's an income tax. Many don't know, for example,that the tax would also apply to couples whose combined income exceeds one million. And the verbage of the bill makes it very easy for the legislature to drop the ceiling from $1 million to a few hundred K or lower...BTW.

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  Schultz Has Jettisoned Seattle Properties, Headed to Miami

Multiple sources, including Realtor.com, report Schultz has dropped $44 million on a "sprawling" lavish home in Florida, some say Miami area, and he has "permanently" ditched his Seattle digs.

   How Much Will he Save Moving?

When the the controversial Capital GainsTax, which even the IRS said was an income tax went into effect, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos fled WA to Florida, taking with him between $600 million and as high as $1.2 billion from the tax revenue-according to some sources. Some of the data we found indicated he saved $63 million.

Now Ari Hoffman, a noted radio host on KVI-AM in Seattle, says based on Schultz's income (much of which comes from investment and stock value from Starbucks, since he's the founder) he will save at least $2 million a year by dodging the looming capital gains tax.  (image courtesy of Ari Hoffman on Facebook)

 Will The Tax Stand up In Court If it Passes?

Schultz announced the move on LinkedIn.  There are numerous opponents, legislators, tax, and legal experts who say if the Senate passes the IncomeTax and Gov. Ferguson signs it, it's a moot point because there are already several lawsuits lined up and ready to go. First and foremost, it violates the state constitution.

But even if it stands, the departure of Bezos and now Schultz are a harbinger of bad economic times to come.  Soon, it won't just be uber-wealthy business owners or industrialists...it will be smaller investors, tech leaders, not to mention the effect it will have on businesses thinking about coming here.