Nature documentaries abound, covering the various species as they embark on their epic migratory journeys. From bird flocks to wildebeasts on the savannah to even monarch butterflies, these travels and travails are captured in dramatic fashion. Currently, another group shift is taking place in the corporate world, where a growing number of companies are pulling up stakes and seeking out more verdant economic landscapes, escaping harsh environments wrought by Democrat tax policies.
It is enough to warrant its own Netflix documentary. Have David Attenborough narrating the footage of these fiscal nomads, and title it “March of the Corporate Titans”.
In a surprisingly rapid succession, we are seeing a rash of news reports detailing how companies are announcing they are seeking out new locations for their corporate headquarters, and/or the CEOs are making the decision to relocate their expansive homes to more welcoming environs. That this presents another harsh lesson to be learned, while at the same time being roundly ignored by Democrat leadership, is the norm.
With all of these shifts taking place, the one constant is that the habitat being left behind is one that is decidedly blue. The list continues to extend, and the states and local governments continue to exert confiscatory policies, operating with an unearned confidence that companies and the wealthy do not have the ability to uproot and find fertile ground elsewhere.
READ MORE: States Are Making Moves to Change Their Tax Laws to Benefit College Athletes, Residents Be Damned
I recently covered how select states are seeking to have their income taxes waived for college athletes, in a bid to have their universities be more competitive in the new environment of paying football players. This is an unspoken admission that taxes are a disincentive and stifle achievement, yet look at the wrongheaded approach they take to this matter.
They say it is “unfair” that states like Florida have no income tax. The reality is that Florida, as an example, is doing nothing, and the other states are the ones imposing tax laws on themselves that put them at a disadvantage. But pointing a finger is far easier than looking in a mirror, and the result is that the very policy preventing their schools from drawing the best players is also forcing out companies and taking jobs along the way. Look at the examples:
STARBUCKS
As Ben covered Wednesday morning, threatening Washington state taxes are inspiring Seattle’s signature corporation to diversify. It is setting up a satellite headquarters in the middle of the country, and moving a number of its executives to that Nashville location. Along with this decision, the founder of the company is also on the move, as Howard Schultz is moving to Miami after living in the area for more than four decades.
YAMAHA
The Japanese motor corporation has announced a gradual relocation to Georgia, beginning at the end of this year. A number of its other divisions have already been moved, but the corporate headquarters will be the final piece now, after 50 years in California.
EXXON
Facing both financial and environmental hostilities, the oil giant has just announced that its board of directors has unanimously voted to relocate to Texas. This is huge, given the company has been founded in and operated in New Jersey for over 140 years.
VALERO
For about a year now, another petroleum giant has been working on its gradual departure from California, scaling down its refinery output. As it turned off the taps and headed out of the state, last month, residents felt a $0.40 leap in gas prices within a week as a result. The company is so desperate to get out that it has been willing to absorb a $1.1 billion cost in doing so.
MARK ZUCKERBERG
We are seeing something of a tech-billionaire wave in South Florida. With the proposed billionaire’s tax arriving in California, the CEO of Meta (Facebook/Instagram/Threads parent) is taking his wealth and building his new home in the Miami area.
PALANTIR
The company that has previously fled California for the more favorable Colorado location is moving again, joining the others who are relocating to South Florida. Along with this, the CEO, Peter Thiel, is moving his home and other ventures at the same time.
THE CHICAGO BEARS
Yes, things are so bad that the Monsters of the Midway might actually migrate to Indiana. While teams relocating in sports is not all that uncommon, the fact that this team has played in the city, and at Soldier Field, for over a century, and is showing a willingness to seek out nearby Hammond, Indiana, is a jarring reality.
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Chief Executive Magazine hosts an annual survey, where it polls around 600 executives to compile its list of the top states for business. There are consistent trends with this survey, at the top and at the bottom. Each year, you can depend on the most-favorable results showing Texas as Number One, Florida as Number Two, and Tennessee at Three. And always at the bottom, you find California (50), New York (49), and Illinois (48).
That the top states have no income tax, as the bottom dwellers have that, as well as many other confiscatory policies and regulation roadblocks, indicates where the inspiration comes from for companies to flee. This extends a previous trend showing the cities acquiring corporate headquarters moving, and those losing them. Texas looms large, as those bottom states have the cities losing out the most.
The amazement is that the blue realms always see the “solution” for these problems as the imposition of more taxes and raising existing rates. Instead of dropping the money-Hoovering tax laws and making their state a draw for business – bringing in jobs, commerce, and MORE tax revenues – they are effectively issuing eviction notices.
As a result, you have California sporting annual budget deficits in the double-digit billions of dollars. Meanwhile, Texas residents have a personal wealth growth trend, and the state is sitting on a budget surplus, and Florida is so flush that Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing to have property taxes removed entirely.
And look at the assured destruction those losing blue states face down the road. The only option they have is to drop their taxes, but this will hardly be a lure for a company operating in a region that already lacks an income tax. States like Texas and Florida see no need for a state income tax, as their coffers are swelling with the arrival of all the companies now.
You have to laugh when you hear the peals of things being unfair from the Democrat strongholds erecting fiscal fences, as they watch the free-range migration of big business towards fertile red state landscapes.
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