Is Jeff Bezos Moving To Florida to Avoid Washington Capital Gains Tax?

In 2022, Washington State imposed a 7% tax on sale of stocks and bonds exceeding $250,000  Opponents called it an income tax while the Washington State Supreme Court ruled it was a capital gains excise tax, not an income tax as outlawed in the Washington state constitution.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and one of the world's wealthiest individuals has done something that seems to suggest he doesn't like the tax anymore than the average person.

Bezos is leaving Seattle after more than 30 years and moving to Florida with his fiance Lauren Sanchez, where there is no personal income or Capital Gains tax.    CNBC reports he has sold billions of Amazon stock almost every year for almost twenty five years until Washington's Capital Gains tax was imposed and upheld by the state Supreme Court.  The sales helped fund his space flight company Blue Origin and purchase of a $500 million yacht and real estate properties.  He didn't sell any Amazon stock in 2022 or 2023 once the tax took effect.

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Now Bezos has announced plans to sell  50 million shares of Amazon, possibly some $8 billion dollars worth by Jan. 31, 2025. As a resident of Florida, it will save him at least $610 million.

Is Bezos, who Forbes ranks as the third wealthiest person in the world at roughly $183.4 billion moving to Florida to save $610 million on a single transaction?

It's hard to say, but the tax savings will more than cover the cost of his expensive yacht.  He will save the taxes every time he sells Amazon stock in the future.

While Bezos and the wealthy have the ability to find ways to avoid taxes,  like moving to another state, let's hope he hasn't used his wealth to buy a crystal ball and has foreseen the future of a state income tax in Washington.

That would be a reason for the world's third wealthiest person to move to Florida.