WA entrepreneur flees ‘unconstitutional’ millionaire tax for Texas
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A prominent Washington tech entrepreneur is joining a growing exodus of business leaders fleeing the Evergreen State, citing the “dramatic” shift in the state’s tax landscape following the passage of a controversial new “millionaire tax.”
Jesse Proudman, founder and CTO of privacy-focused generative AI platform Venice.ai, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the state he once called a “startup haven” is increasingly hostile to the people who fuel its economy.
“I’ve started three companies here in the state. I’ve been an entrepreneur here my whole life,” Proudman said. “When I started my first company, the business environment was very entrepreneur-friendly and the startup community was seen as a contributing member of the city. This has changed dramatically in the last few years.”
Proudman, who previously founded private cloud company Blue Box and crypto investment platform Makara, now serves as a spokesperson. Let’s go to Washington. The political committee is currently leading a massive signature-gathering effort to repeal the tax measure before it takes root.
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Jessie Proudman, a Washington business owner, is fleeing the state because of its taxes and unfriendly business policy.
The tax, passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature in the 2026 session and signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in March, imposes a 9.9% tax on annual income exceeding $1 million. Although it is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2028, with the first payments due in 2029, the threat of implementation is already changing the demographic makeup of the state.
“We need to collect approximately 325,000 signatures by July 2nd to put this on the November ballot,” said Hallie Herzberg, Let’s Go Washington Communications Director. “The public deserves the right to vote on this issue. This is already driving businesses, employers and families out of the state.”
The move marks a jarring shift for Washington, which has historically been one of the few states without a personal income tax. However, the legal ground shifted in 2023 when the state Supreme Court approved a 7% capital gains tax, effectively opening the door to broader income-based taxes that critics argued violated the state constitution’s requirement that property (including income) be taxed at a single rate.
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State Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the Seattle lawmaker behind Washington’s newly implemented “millionaire’s tax,” dismisses concerns that a steep income tax increase would trigger an exodus of wealthy residents and businesses from the Pacific Northwest. (Washington Senate Democrats)
State Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle), the Senate Majority Leader and the bill’s primary sponsor, dismissed concerns about “tax evasion.”
“The reality is that a millionaire tax is unlikely to result in businesses leaving,” Pedersen told a local FOX affiliate after the bill was signed. He later told Fox News Digital that there was “no evidence” that high-income earners would migrate to lower-tax areas like Florida or Texas.
Data from the Washington Business Association (AWB) shows otherwise. A new survey reported by Central Square to create 44% of business leaders in the state are considering relocating their personal residences. What’s more, businesses in Washington report that they are now twice as likely to expand outside the state as those within the state.
According to Proudman, the decision had already been made. He plans to move his life and business interests to Austin, Texas.
“It’s no longer a friendly place to do business,” Proudman said. “Startups are being mistreated. We’ve looked at alternative places to move to with this tax going into effect, and we’ll probably end up in Austin.”
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Washington State’s new income tax is facing legal challenges as some argue it violates the state Constitution. (Universal Images Group via Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Getty Images)
Proudman warned that although the tax is currently being branded as a “millionaire’s tax” to win public favor, the long-term economic consequences will eventually hit middle-class residents as the tax base shrinks.
“They are targeting a very mobile segment of the population,” Proudman said. “When these people are gone, it will become a tax on everyone. Voters are unknowingly creating an incredibly worse tax situation for themselves. Washington is already the 45th worst tax state. This is a constitutionally illegal tax, and it will end up being a tax on everyone.”
Senator Pedersen’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s latest request for comment.
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