

Ask YC: Mass. question to eliminate state tax: good or bad for startups? - vlad

Since YCombinator has an office in Massachusetts and Boston is the second biggest technology startup hub (after Silicon Valley), what do you guys think about this question?
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nostrademons
Where startups = the type of company usually funded by YCombinator, at the
stage of development when they're usually in Boston?

Probably neutral. At this stage, they have little or no income to be taxed.
Maybe slightly negative, because it'll make the T even _more_ unreliable (if
that's even possible) and frugal startups along the Red Line tend to use the
Red Line for transportation.

It could be a positive for the type of startups founded by grizzled 50 year
old industry veterans, as they have a much higher income. But it's
_definitely_ a negative for aspiring teenage entrepreneurs, because Question 1
will essentially eviscerate interlibrary loan. I learned basically all my
TCP/IP, C++, economics, and business strategy through that, so there's
basically no way I would've ever discovered entrepreneurship if Question 1 had
been in effect when I was a kid.

