Yes they can. I believe Amazon is incorporated in VA or some other state on the East Coast, and none of their distribution centers are in WA state and they don’t pay sales tax on the goods going through their distribution centers.

AFAIK Microsoft moved their fullfillment center/division to a different state a long time ago (Navada iirc). I’m sure it’s because they had a good argument that there’d be no nexus in WA, so no need to pay sales tax here for sales… major tax advantages..

I don’t think that would get them out of it. Owning a few of the largest structures in the world, which are located in Washington, would create enough of a nexus. It’s not like Amazon can avoid the sale tax by shipping stuff from NJ.

Also note that the sale tax would only apply to items shipped to Washington in any event.

question if all these businesses can’t make it in WA because of the tax structure why don’t they just pack up and leave?

They have.

Boeing HAS left, most people just don’t think about it. They moved their headquarters to a different state just a years ago. Moving the corporate headquarters had nothing to do with the puget sound traffic fiasco, and everything to do with intrusive and expensive government.
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2001/q2/news_release_010510a.html

AFAIK Microsoft moved their fullfillment center/division to a different state a long time ago (Navada iirc). I’m sure it’s because they had a good argument that there’d be no nexus in WA, so no need to pay sales tax here for sales… major tax advantages.

Bear in mind that these large companies get millions in special tax breaks that “regular” companies don’t get. Thus I moved my company out of WA.

Several Boeing employees live on my street, a modest neighborhood with a mix of old and new developments about fifteen minutes north of Paine Field, and $400k will get you a 3000 sf house on a quarter to half acre of recent construction (~ 10 yrs) or an acre or more with an older house. There is plenty of affordable housing on the fringes, and by affordable I mean the mortgage payment is doable on a working class income and the house can be rented for the mortgage payment if desired (or in my case necessary because of a job change), and with a regional mandate to expand transit outward it’s only going to make more sense in the future to pass on inner city life.

This is a slightly off topic rant but lack of affordable housing has nothing to do with Boeing potentially leaving Washington. They have been battling the state’s economic development people for many years, with good reason IMO. WA is as unfriendly toward business as any state IMO.

They thought the wages were too high here, but it doesn’t really do much good to pay others less if the others are incapable of doing the job.

Boeing would hurt plenty.
Unless the union busting efforts legally can free up the free loaders earning way more then average it will happen sooner or later.

It’d take more than union busting. WA has an A@@ backwards business tax on gross sales rather than net profit. It has way more red tape and regulations than many other states. Basically, WA has a political culture that spews hate toward business.

This so-called “report” is typical of the kind of hack job (black mail) you see right before Boeing demands some kind of concession from the state or the unions.

I wouldn’t bury a dead cat in the PSBJ, just more corporate media.

RE: Kary L. Krismer @ 1 -

Didn’t DHL shut down it’s entire U.S. operations.