With the technology industry booming, major tech cities have sprouted up all over the U.S. Besides allowing for the creation of new companies because of the available resources, these cities also help the local economies by creating new jobs.
According to a report published by Business Week, Mayor Edwin Lee of San Francisco claims that his new proposal would aid in the creation of over 10,000 jobs in the technology space by helping to reduce business taxes. This proposal wants to get rid of a payroll levy and instead add a tax on sales. A policy like this is what has caused companies like Twitter to move to San Francisco.
Within California, San Francisco is the only company with a tax on payroll, with a varying rate around 1.5 percent. There are certain exemptions for businesses that have opened up in areas such as Tenderloin and Central Market. Opponents of this tax on a business’s payrolls say that it only works in preventing future growth.
Despite San Francisco having this tax, is it still one of the biggest tech cities within the U.S.?
1. Seattle
Seattle is home to such giant companies like Amazon and Microsoft. Along with some big Seattle SEO companies such as AudienceBloom, this city also features popular gaming company PopCap and entertainment website Buddy TV. Seattle’s tech scene is so big that it accounts for 13.6 percent of the jobs within Washington.
2. New York
New York isn’t only home to famous landmarks such as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. It is also a place for a large number of booming companies. Popular companies that call New York their home include Tumblr and Foursquare. There is one other reason that entrepreneurs choose to call New York home. Citizens are directly near Wall Street. Here, entrepreneurs have access to some of the wealthiest venture capitalists in the world. New York City also has the $22 million New York Entrepreneurial Fund, where eligible companies may receive up to $750,000 in funding.
3. San Francisco
Despite San Francisco having the payroll level that so many companies despise, it is still one of the biggest tech cities within the U.S. Tech giants such as Facebook, Zynga, Google, Apple, and Twitter all call San Francisco their home. Many of the students who graduate from nearby universities such as the University of California-Berkeley and Stanford are popular candidates for jobs at these companies. Tech startups love establishing themselves in San Francisco because they have access to some of the top talent in the world.
4. Chicago
Chicago isn’t only known as the “Windy City” to many tech companies out there. The biggest company in the city is Motorola Mobility, who was recently bought out by Google by just over $12 million. Other companies such as Groupon and Orbitz call Chicago their home. According to BuiltInChicago.org, Chicago is also known as “Silicon City” because a new startup is created every 48 hours.
5. Boston
Most tech companies head to Boston because it produces some of the smartest graduates in the country. These graduates come from both Harvard and MIT and many go on to work for the local startups. Top venture capital firm Spark Capital, who has invested in top companies such as Foursquare and Twitter, calls Boston its home. Top tech companies including travel service Kayak and online data storage service Carbonite have offices in Boston.
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