I was born and raised in Australia and came to America 24 years ago to pursue a doctorate in computer science.
Instead of starting that PhD, I joined a small startup — it was called Google. Through many years of hard work, Google became one of the world’s most valuable services, used by billions of people every day.
Like many people who work in technology, much of my compensation was in stock grants. When Google IPO’d, I faced a significant decision: remain in California and pay exorbitant state taxes on top of the federal capital gains tax, or move to a state that didn’t penalize success.
Eighteen years ago, I chose to move to Seattle, where I’ve lived and raised my family. Seattle’s rise as a tech hub is due in large part to Washington’s favorable tax policies (it was a major reason why Amazon was founded here).
The new capital gains tax discourages tech entrepreneurs from moving here and encourages those with capital gains to leave (I have already seen several of my friends leave due to this tax).
We’ve already lost one of the world’s wealthiest to Florida, and his potential philanthropic focus on Washington.
I’m voting to repeal the capital gains tax because I know what it will do to our local economy and the harm it will do to small business owners, tech employees and startup entrepreneurs.
Vote “yes” on 2109 to reestablish Washington’s tradition of welcoming the world’s best and brightest to our state.
Vijay Boyapati
Seattle
