Tech CEO says he was hit with up to $30,000 in surprise taxes and fees after a software engineer worked remotely in California and Texas without telling the company

Alex Atwood, the chief executive officer of tech startup GravyWork, told the Journal that his Virginia-based company may have to pay an estimated $500,000 in total costs after a former software engineer worked remotely for long stretches in California and Texas without telling him. Atwood didn’t register his business in those states, which sounded an alarm to their respective government agencies, he told the Journal.