Is it a good place to own a business? (Seattle: real estate, rent)

[Taboo2]

I would give my right arm to move to Seattle but we own a business here in California. Does anyone know if owning a business is more profitable than in California regarding wages, taxes, etc...
Thanks

[Jennibc]

What kind of business? Will you have employees? We have the highest minimum wage in the country.

[AzDreamer]

Here's an article that might help.

Washington's business climate is all over the map - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

[Topaz]

As an owner of a business that has a branch in Washington State, I hate the B&O tax. It is a ridiculous tax. I pay tax on the gross earnings of the business with no deduction for expenses, and then I pay my contractors very well, and then they pay B&O tax on the exact same money all over again. That is not business friendly. Any tax that focuses on gross income with no consideration for your business expenses is an absurd tax. You could earn $200,000, have $150,000 in expenses because you paid people well, and you'd owe tax on $200,000.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

What kind of business? Will you have employees? We have the highest minimum wage in the country.

We are in San Francisco. I would guess our minimum wage is the same.
We have skilled labor though so nobody at our company makes minimum. We don't do much contracting really. Everything is in house except a rare occasion we can't do part of the job because of machinery.

[Jennibc]

California minimum wage = $8.00
Washington State minimum wage =$8.07

I know it's only a few pennies, but unless SF has some additional wage they tack on to the CA base then WA still has 'em beat. I used to wonder why restaurant prices here are similar to those in LA. Then someone pointed out our minimum wage. Additionally, there isn't a tipped minimum so waiters make the full $8.07 and hour. That means restaurant owners have much larger labor costs, so even though rent and real estate is lower here, overall costs are still as high. Thus we pay the same amount for a casual dining out experience as one would in Los Angeles.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

California minimum wage = $8.00
Washington State minimum wage =$8.07

I know it's only a few pennies, but unless SF has some additional wage they tack on to the CA base then WA still has 'em beat. I used to wonder why restaurant prices here are similar to those in LA. Then someone pointed out our minimum wage. Additionally, there isn't a tipped minimum so waiters make the full $8.07 and hour. That means restaurant owners have much larger labor costs, so even though rent and real estate is lower here, overall costs are still as high. Thus we pay the same amount for a casual dining out experience as one would in Los Angeles.

Thanks, that is something to keep in mind. We don't go out a whole lot since we have small children with another on the way. Unless you count chuckEcheese.

Our lowest paid person is the delivery guy at $13.00 hrly. I guess we would have to change a lot of things if we relocated.

What about locations. We are semi-industrial because of the large machinery we have. What parts of town or the Seattle area have business parks industrial or semi industrial?
Thanks so much!

[AzDreamer]

I'll bet you could get some good info if you would contact cities like Seattle and Kent and ask to speak to someone about business relocations. They all have paid staff to help businesses relocate.