WA State Loses Nearly 32,000 Taxpayers Since 2021, Says IRS

According to IRS Migration data, WA State has lost a lot of taxpayers since 2021.

   Over a billion dollars in taxable income left the state.

The Internal Revenue Service has what's called migration data, where they track the numbers of eligible taxpayers who come here, or leave.

According to their latest data, between 2021-2022, nearly 19,000 (18,798) working taxpayers moved elsewhere. This is based on the permanent address listed by the reporting workers.

Throw in another 14,000 in 2023, and that's nearly 32,000.  The 2021-2022 migration took nearly $1.66 billion in revenue out of the state. However, in 2023, while the state lost those 14,000 the state gained $200 million in adjusted gross income.

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Because the $1.66 billion is a pretty high figure compared to 'just' 18,798 taxpayers, it appears many of them are high earners who left because of the looming capital gains tax that finally went into effect last year. The State Supreme Court basically ruled it was an 'excise' tax, but every other tax entity in the country, including the IRS, says the structure of the WA capital gains tax is an income tax---which violates the state constitution.

Much has been made about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos leaving WA and establishing residence in Florida. His departure alone saved him hundreds of millions of dollars by not having to pay the tax. Florida does not have such a tax in place.

Those 2021-2022 taxpayer-loss figures were the 9th worst rate in the US during that period.