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governor of florida Ron DeSantis (R) stated that Washington State’s fiscal outlook is amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) Founder Jeff Bezos Relocating from this state to Florida in late 2023.
DeSantis posted on X on Sunday that Washington state “has lost its biggest taxpayer,” referring to Bezos’ recent move to Florida.
DeSantis said the billionaire entrepreneur’s relocation had a “significant impact” on Washington state’s budget.
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While Bezos didn’t mention any specific numbers, Bezos reportedly moved into the infamous “billionaire bunker” in the Indian Creek Village community outside Miami in 2024, helping him save $1 billion in taxes. That’s a pretty impressive number considering Washington state’s annual revenue from 2023 to 2025 is $66.39 billion.
Yes, Washington state lost its biggest taxpayer — Jeff Bezos — to Florida.
This is not “just talk.” This relocation alone will have a significant impact on the WA budget. https://t.co/7CpTrsrBLZ
It comes as Washington plans to impose a new state income tax on its millionaire residents, which DeSantis said would be “counterproductive” because it gives states without one, such as Florida, “a significant advantage over states that do.”
“Washington is already driving taxpayers away because of bad policy,” he said, adding that the inevitable result of such bad policy is that “taxpayers will flee.”
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He warned that states will continue to spend and eventually the policy of initially taxing millionaires will be expanded to other tax bases. “This will further erode the economic base – and the cycle will repeat itself,” he concluded.
Washington has driven taxpayers out of their homes because of bad policies.
Income taxes are counterproductive—states that do not impose an income tax have a significant advantage over states that do.
The inevitable result is that some taxpayers will flee and the desire to consume will… https://t.co/pmwE9g6L7Q