Another billionaire leaves Washington: how business owners are taking their companies with them

Attorney and CPA Chad D. Cummings examines the latest high-profile relocation from Washington to Florida in this presentation. Gabe Newell, the co-founder and CEO of Valve, purchased a $70.8 million waterfront estate in Manalapan, Florida, joining Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, and other Washington billionaires who have already left the state. Washington ranks 45th on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index after imposing a 9.9 percent capital gains tax and raising its estate tax to the highest rate in the country at 35 percent. Florida imposes no state personal income tax, no capital gains tax, and no estate tax. This presentation shows how redomestication allows business owners to transfer their company out of Washington state without dissolving the entity, without creating a new company, and on a completely tax-free basis while preserving the same FEIN, contracts, credit history, and bank accounts. If you own a business in Washington, the pattern of departures and the state's response make the decision clear. Learn more: https://www.cummings.law/redomestication/move-business-out-of-washington/