“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” That’s Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion, something I learned in physics years ago. It’s also true about what happens when taxes increase. Options that businesses would rather not look at become things businesses start considering.
For years I’ve noted that as California increases taxes, businesses start looking at moving to Las Vegas, Denver, and Phoenix. Shock of shocks, with Proposition 30 passing in California, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council decided that now is a good time to actively pursue California businesses. Yes, Phoenix’s summer climate is brutal (just like Las Vegas), but there’s a good workforce, low taxes and regulations, and plenty of housing.
A hint to California: As you continue making the state more and more hostile to businesses, businesses are forced to react. No business wants to move (it’s expensive and disruptive), but like my business that moved last year, eventually the desert wastes of Las Vegas or Phoenix start looking really attractive.
[…] not just a theoretical issue, as Russ Fox reports in Phoenix Woos California Businesses: A hint to California: As you continue making the state more and more hostile to businesses, […]