Starbucks Nashville expansion may be driven by Seattle taxes, reporter says
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TO seattle enterprise reporter is questioning why Starbucks is selecting to depart Washington and speculating that taxes may be a potential purpose the espresso big is increasing in Nashville over Washington.
“Start with taxes,” a Friday article in The Seattle Times entitled, “What’s Nashville have that we ain’t got in Seattle?” learn. “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 is showing to minimize its presence in Seattle, acknowledging in March it will be closing five extra shops within the metropolis. That transfer follows a number of closures in 2025, together with the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill.
Starbucks introduced it can increase tipping choices to permit baristas to obtain suggestions for extra credit score and debit card transactions. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group)
In March, Washington state Democrats passed the “millionaires tax,” which Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed March 30. It is described because the state’s first-ever earnings tax, pushed by progressives and socialists and opposed by conservatives.
After its passage, The Wall Street Journal editorial board referred to as the tax a “con” that can “inevitably capture the middle class.”
The new tax will impose a 9.9% income tax on households incomes greater than $1 million every year. The tax applies to any cash earned after the primary $1 million of somebody’s annual earnings. It will take impact on Jan. 1, 2028, with the primary funds due in April 2029, KOMO News reported.
In its piece, The Seattle Times steered that Nashville may need seemed extra interesting to Starbucks than staying in Seattle.
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Starbucks Corp. headquarters in Seattle, Washington, on Sept. 26, 2025. (David Ryder/Bloomberg)
“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 learn.
It continued, “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 additionally highlighted that Nashville’s hourly wage is decrease than Seattle’s.
“Better nonetheless for employers from high-cost statesNashville’s expertise comes at a cut price,” it learn. “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 US 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.”
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Washington State is dealing with a authorized problem over its new tax, as some say it violates the state Constitution and others warn it may hurt small companies. (David Ryder/Bloomberg through Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to Starbucks for remark, and was referred to an April messages from Sara Kelly, Starbucks chief companion officer, on its southeast expansion, which learn partially, “The Nashville office will be a complement to our global and North America headquarters in Seattle where we will maintain a large presence.”
It continued, “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.”
