Is Texas the true “model of success?” Latest potential news could solidify the Lone Star State as the economic hub of the United States.
According to Automotive News, unnamed sources close to the situation say that Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is transferring its sales and marketing headquarters from the suburbs of Los Angeles to Plano, Texas. Toyota’s U.S. operations have been stationed in California for more than half a century and the move could affect a majority of its 5,000 employees.
The sources say that the transfer will take place in two stages and take approximately two years to complete. The news was announced to a small group of Toyota executives late last week and the remaining staff members will be informed of the transition this week.
Julie Hamp, a spokesperson for Toyota, commented on the reports and called them “rumor and speculation.” In addition, officials at the city of Plano were also contacted but no one has responded to requests for comment.
Southern California used to be the home to Japan’s “Big 3” automotive manufacturers: Honda, Nissan and Toyota. The state’s region began to lose that moniker after Nissan announced in 2005 that it would be transferring over to Smyrna, Tennessee. Last year, Honda started to transition its executives to the state of Ohio.
The reason for the transfers could be due to the tax situation in The Golden State. In recent years, it has become a lot more expensive to do business in California: according to the Tax Foundation, the state is only behind New York and New Jersey as the worst for complex, non-neutral taxes with comparatively high rates.
Expatistan placed the Los Angeles metropolitan area No. 9 in the United States as the most expensive. Esquire magazine listed Los Angeles as the most expensive city in the country where some can live “well.”
Texas, meanwhile, continues to bring in businesses from across the country. Over the last decade, the state of Texas has created 3 out of 10 jobs in the country and it has been ranked as the seventh-best state for business. Despite his failed run for president, Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry has championed his record of incorporating “low taxes, smart regulations and fair courts.”
“The Texas model of success means more opportunities, better jobs and better lives for Texans. Companies moving from high-tax, high-regulatory states to low-tax, pro-growth states like Texas have a greater chance to grow and create even more jobs,” wrote Perry, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, in an op-ed published in USA Today. “In fact, in just the past 15 months, dozens of California companies have publicly announced plans to relocate or expand in Texas, totaling more than 12,000 jobs.”
Last year, the leaders in Texas and California sparred after Perry delivered radio and television advertisements in California encouraging businesses and workers to come to Texas. He also toured California and spoke with businesses to lure them into the south. In March, Perry made another trip for three days and was paid for by the Americans for Economic Freedom.
“This isn’t about bashing California – it’s about promoting Texas and the economic climate that we’ve created to encourage job creation and prosperity,” Perry told reporters as he defended his trip to some Democratic-controlled states promoting Texas.
Perry is garnering a lot of eyeballs and could help his chances should he run for the Oval Office.
