Seattle Times Questions Starbucks Shift to Nashville Amid New Millionaires Tax

A Seattle business reporter is questioning why Starbucks is pulling back from Washington state while expanding in Nashville, with taxes as a possible factor.

"Start with taxes," a Friday article in The Seattle Times stated under the headline "What’s Nashville have that we ain’t got in Seattle?" "Tennessee boasts the nation’s eighth-best tax climate for business, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation’s 2025 survey, which considers taxes on income, businesses, sales and property, and unemployment insurance rates. Washington state ranks 45th."

Starbucks has reduced its footprint in Seattle. The company said in March it would close five more stores in the city. That follows several closures this year, including the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill.

In March, Washington state Democrats passed the "millionaires tax," which Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed on March 30. The measure marks the state's first income tax. Progressives and socialists backed it, while conservatives opposed it.

After passage, The Wall Street Journal editorial board called the tax a "con" that will "inevitably capture the middle class."

The tax levies 9.9% on household income above $1 million a year. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2028, with first payments due in April 2029, according to KOMO News.

The Seattle Times article suggested Nashville's appeal for Starbucks. "And while Starbucks insists it’s keeping its Seattle headquarters, Tennessee’s lack of a personal income tax might make Nashville especially attractive to some of Starbucks’ high earners," it said.

It added, "At least six of Starbucks’ ‘named Executive Officers,’ including Niccol, earned at least $6 million or more in total compensation in fiscal 2025, according to the company’s 2026 proxy statement."

The piece also noted Nashville's lower wages. "Better still for employers from high-cost states, Nashville’s talent comes at a bargain," it said. "The average hourly wage in the greater Nashville area — $31 — is 5% below the national average and 28% below the Seattle area, according to 2024 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The gap is even greater for some skill positions, such as the IT roles that will make up more than half of jobs in Starbucks’ Nashville office."

Fox News Digital contacted Starbucks, which referred to an April message from Sara Kelly, the company's chief partner officer. The statement covered its southeast expansion and read in part, "The Nashville office will be a complement to our global and North America headquarters in Seattle where we will maintain a large presence."

It went on, "Over the next five years, we expect to have 2,000 support jobs located in Nashville. The majority of our support teams continue to be based here in Seattle. Nashville-based roles will include a combination of net new roles being created to support growth, some in-sourcing as we move some work from contract workers and professional service providers to full-time Starbucks partner roles, and in some cases, moving select teams from Seattle to Nashville as we did recently with our Sourcing teams."