Seattle will lose more than the $750 million in tax revenue when Starbucks departs

According to recent research, Starbucks moving 2,000 jobs to Nashville will cost the State of Washington more than $750 million dollars over the next couple of decades. For a state that is constantly telling residents that state government needs to raise taxes, this should be a serious concern and should lead lawmakers to be more vigilant about cutting spending.

While the tax revenue loss is important, it is just part of what Seattle, and the State of Washington are losing as our homegrown success story moves thousands of high paying jobs to friendlier Tennessee.

The region is also losing a great role model for what a successful business should do in their community.

Starbucks is what a “corporate citizen” should be. It is hard to find a local charitable effort that Starbucks is not involved in. From being one of the funders of Mary’s Place to help woman and children stuck in homelessness to putting on the annual Hot Java Cool Java concert to promote and fund  youth jazz programs, Starbucks has been very involved in making Seattle a great place to live.

One sees the Starbucks logo all over Seattle. From  Little League fields to T-Mobile Park, the company’s logo if often seen on the outfield fencing.

And those who are involved in smaller community  charity efforts also know that their local Starbucks are there to provide free coffee for volunteers and a contribution to reduce the overhead costs.

Starbucks has led by example, and many other Seattle businesses have followed.

Starbucks will likely stay active in Seattle, yet it is easy to imagine that more of Starbucks’ attention will be on Nashville. It is hard to quantify this impact, but we will know it has occurred.