Major Washington State Employer Will Move Because of Estate Tax

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports:

Services Group of America Inc. plans to move its headquarters, and 90 jobs, from West Seattle to Scottsdale, Ariz., by the end of this year, and the once-politically prominent owner of the company says Washington's estate tax is to blame for the shift.

The parent company of Food Services of America and four other firms also plans to lease its five-story building just south of the West Seattle Bridge and eventually sell it, the company said Friday.

Tom Stewart, 61, is the sole owner of Services Group, one of the state's largest privately held companies, with $2.5 billion in annual revenue, 4,000 employees nationally and 1,100 in the state. Its subsidiaries, including Food Services of America, distribute food to schools, hospitals, restaurants and government and military facilities.

"With the Legislature and the governor electing to impose the highest state inheritance tax in the nation on family-owned companies, it has left us with little choice but to move," the company said in a statement. "Among other long-term financial considerations, this one threatens the long-term future of the company."

High taxes aren't the winning combination for keeping jobs and families in an area.No wonder Seattle now has more dogs than children.Blue State values.