Newly appointed Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol won’t be required to relocate to the company’s headquarters in Seattle when he joins the coffee giant next month.
Instead, Starbucks says Niccol can live in his home in Newport Beach, California and commute to Starbucks’ head office 1,000 miles away on a corporate jet, according to the new CEO’s offer letter, which was made public in an SEC filing last week.
In his new role, Niccol, 50, will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million annually and has the opportunity to earn an annual cash bonus that could range from $3.6 million to $7.2 million depending on his performance. He will also be eligible for annual equity awards worth up to $23 million.
I’m surprised by this because what rich guy wouldn’t want to shift his income from a state with one of the highest if not the highest tax rate at his level of income to a state with no income tax?
It doesn’t matter that the income will be sourced in Washington. He lives in California, and by that, the franchise tax board is hyper aggressive in getting their cut.
Note that the equity awards mentioned are taxable as well.