Ex-Starbucks CEO ditches Seattle for Miami as Dems move to impose 'millionaires' tax'

Former Starbucks owner and CEO Howard Schultz says he is leaving Seattle for Miami after 44 years in the java giant’s home state of Washington — as Dems there have been pushing for a so-called “millionaires’ tax.”He has paid about $44 million for a 5,500-square-foot penthouse at the Surf Club, Four Seasons Private Residences in Surfside, Fla., the Wall Street Journal reported.The move comes as Washington lawmakers are moving ahead with a plan to impose a 9.9% tax on household income over $1 million starting in 2029.The measure was headed for the state Senate this week after passing the House on Tuesday.Schultz — who once mulled running for president as an independent — made no mention of the proposed tax in a LinkedIn post announcing his move, though he nodded to the overall business climate.“It is our hope that Washington will remain a place for business and entrepreneurship to thrive, creating essential opportunity for those in Seattle and the surrounding areas,” he wrote.Schultz is following in the footsteps of a growing number of wealthy businessmen who have been ditching the high-tax coasts for the Sunshine State.They include Google co-founder Larry Page and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, both of whom left California ahead of a referendum on a so-called “billionaires’ tax”Schultz – who is worth about $3.5 billion, according to Forbes – is widely recognized for building Starbucks from a small coffee shop into a sprawling industry giant worth billions of dollars.

He bought the chain in 1987 and took it public a few years later.“For those of you who know us well, we have entered the ‘retirement’ phase of our lives,” he wrote about himself and his wife Sheri Schultz.“We are enjoying the sunshine of South Florida and its allure to our kids on the East Coast as they raise families of their own.”The Schultz family lived in the Seattle area for decades.The couple’s private family office will move to Miami, but their chari...