#31 Washington
#36 in Taxation and Regulation
#11 in Workforce Quality
#13 in Living Environment
Right to Work? ✗
Regional Profile – West
| California | ||||
| Colorado | ||||
| Idaho | ||||
| Montana | ||||
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| Utah | ||||
| Washington | ||||
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Key Industries
Aerospace & Defense, Biotech, Clean Tech, Forestry, I.T., Maritime
Key Companies
Amazon
Capital One
Costco
General Dynamics
Lockheed Martin
Microsoft
Starbucks
Weyerhauser
Advantages
Job cuts announced last year by Boeing and Microsoft will likely be offset by hiring at Amazon, helping prod the state’s efforts to at least keep pace with national job recovery.
Washington spends over $2.4 billion per year on incentives.
Challenges
Washington imposes gross receipts taxes instead of corporate income taxes. Gross receipts taxes are thought to be more economically harmful than corporate income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation.
Key Contacts
Dept. of Commerce
Brian Bonlender, Director
360-725-4000
1011 Plum Street SE
P.O. Box 42525
Olympia, WA 98504-2525
brian.bonlender@commerce.wa.gov
http://www.commerce.wa.gov/about/Pages/default.aspx
CEO Comments
“Washington and Ohio prove strong incentives for entrepreneurship. The availability of well-trained workers with team oriented values is good in both states.”
“Washington, Nevada and Montana claim to be business friendly, but they have high taxes, T & E costs, and laws favoring organized labor.”
Current Developments
2015 REGIONAL REPORT: The West
July 29, 2015
Governors Are Touting Wins of Large-Scale Manufacturing Facilities in Their States
March 31, 2015
Pouring Profits for Talking Rain
June 5, 2015