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Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

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111–120 of 325 posts

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TD Ameritrade is headquartered in Omaha. The HQ location choice is not driven by existing Ameritrafe footprint, or by the merger itself. The FAQ is simply addressing what will be, not starting that there was a cause and effect because of the proposed merger. Also, Schwab was already reducing SF headcount for years. Also, afaik the merger is still in the prices of regulatory review. All this being said, the merger lik…

Why would the government review a headquarters move?

It sounds like they'll be keeping a sizable amount of staff in SF still. SF has a gross receipts tax on certain companies with HQ's in the city. As such auditors will want to ensure this isn't just a tax avoidance gimmick. By pairing this move with an acquisition Charles Schwab has a stronger defense against such an accusation.

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the problem with housing prices in California is that property taxes are too low. Prop 13 means existing homeowners are shielded from higher property taxes, so growing property values are only good for them, no matter how high. Thus, there's no incentive to increase housing supply, which could lower prices.

The problem with housing in California is that we do not build it because regulations prohibit new housing. Look at a zoning map in San Francisco. Housing is illegal.

Existing homeowners don't care about new housing because their property taxes don't rise due to a constricted supply. If they did, I'd bet you those zoning laws would change pretty darned quickly.

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#113

This is better both for San Francisco and Texas, from a load-balancing perspective. Unless housing can catch up, large companies shouldn't be expanding in San Francisco.

Housing and taxes in CA are close to oppressive. The housing situation will not change unless CA voters agree to a change in property taxes and they won't. I would also bet that the move will come at the expense of Texas tax payers and to the benefit of Schwabb.

Aren’t taxes highly regressive in Texas with sky high property taxes which exempt rich people ?

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#114

I just moved to the Bay Area and I have no good opinions about living here. It’s a 3 trillion dollar neighborhood that has broken infrastructure, an abysmal housing situation, crime through the roof, homeless people everywhere, traffic, outrageous costs and just generally an awful place to live. I don’t know about the business side, but from an employee standpoint, fuck the Bay Area. Oh, and my car got broken into tw…

Sometimes I wonder if there’s a funded campaign against the Bay Area online. Where do you live, and where did you come from? I just moved to SF and yes it has homeless people, traffic and is extremely expensive, but these are things that every other big city I’ve lived in has. The costs and homelessness are worse than Seattle or NYC but not to the point that it’s a reduction in my quality of life. To say you have “no…

Some of these complaints didn’t really pick up in earnest until after 2015, even though the underlying issues have not meaningfully changed in severity since then. In fact, rents in SF are lower today than at their peak in 2015. Homelessness is up, though the city has gotten slightly better at provisioning shelter and is slowly writing conservatorship legislation.

Of course someone will bring up the infamous up-and-to-the-right poop maps, but that seems primarily to be a case of response bias as 311 rolled out an app with increasing adoption.

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#115
post #7

Welcome to the Lone Star State! Cheap real estate and friendly folks. And BBQ, metric tons of BBQ...

And traffic out the wazoo, and few good alternatives to driving.

DFW Traffic isn't that bad - noticeably better than Seattle - where I last lived before moving here.

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#116
post #18

This is part of Schwab's merger with TD Ameritrade. Relevant bits from Schwab's FAQ [1]: Q: Where will the combined company be headquartered? A: As part of the integration process, the corporate headquarters of the combined companies will eventually relocate to Schwab’s new campus in Westlake, Texas. Both companies have a sizable presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This will allow the firm to take advantage of th…

Companies locate their headquarters solely on where their CEO wants to live.

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Housing and taxes in CA are close to oppressive. The housing situation will not change unless CA voters agree to a change in property taxes and they won't. I would also bet that the move will come at the expense of Texas tax payers and to the benefit of Schwabb.

Part of the problem with housing prices in California is that property taxes are too low. Prop 13 means existing homeowners are shielded from higher property taxes, so growing property values are only good for them, no matter how high. Thus, there's no incentive to increase housing supply, which could lower prices.

So if we want to tax illiquid assets and wealth instead of income, why stop at houses? Why not tax equity held in companies? Why don’t we tax employees based on the amount and value of equity they have in a company? Every time there is a new round of funding that increases the value of equity, impose a higher tax.

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would the government review a headquarters move?

It sounds like they'll be keeping a sizable amount of staff in SF still. SF has a gross receipts tax on certain companies with HQ's in the city. As such auditors will want to ensure this isn't just a tax avoidance gimmick. By pairing this move with an acquisition Charles Schwab has a stronger defense against such an accusation.

When will the people of SF learn you cannot tax yourself to prosperity

Re: Schwab Leaves San Francisco for Texas

#120
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever visited? Talked to locals? You might be surprised how friendly people are IRL.

I lived in Dallas and it is the only place I've lived where people would scream homophobic slurs at me in the street. I wouldn't say I'd never move back, but the situation would have to be dire for me to consider it. Definitely cut your hair if you visit.

Dallas is actually very liberal, it's a blue city, totally blue,
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