Tax the wealthy and they will leave.

[iluvatar5150]

The point was that wealthy people are moving out of state. It is not necessary to show that the GDP of the state has been affected in order for this to be so...or for it to be important.

What's important is why they are moving. If taxes aren't the primary motivation for the relocation, then this whole conversation is just chasing red herrings, because they're moving for other reasons and the tax implications are incidental. I'm not naive enough to think that taxes don't influence a person's choice of where to live. Here in Baltimore, for example, "the city" is rather small and it only takes moving a mile or two north to get out into "the county" where property tax rates are halved. In many places, the county line runs between adjacent neighborhoods or even through the middle of a single neighborhood, so the move from city to county has relatively little impact on the rest of a person's lifestyle. I've known many people who've chosen to buy in the county for tax reasons and have considered it myself, ultimately deciding against it because the tax savings would be entirely consumed by additional expenses incurred by my wife's lengthened commute.

But moving across states is quite a different matter altogether. Folks in the BOS-WASH corridor might be able to move just inside a neighboring state and maintain the rest of their life, but that's about it. Very few people are going to move from NYC to Florida or from Seattle to Boise or from LA to Austin just to save money on taxes. For one thing, the source of the money they earn is often tied to a specific location. A doctor has a practice with employees and patients; a lawyer has a firm with associates and clients; an executive has a headquarters with a staff; a business owner has a location for his business. Maybe a handful of people in specialized industries like sports or arts & entertainment can establish residences wherever they want, but they're not numerous enough to worry about. For most people who aren't living purely off of investment income, including the wealthy, relocating a substantial distance involves a significant lifestyle upheaval, including losing the source of the income that they're trying to shield from taxes.

 

[yougottabekidding]

Sorry, but both the thread and this forum in particular are about American politics. If you want to talk about somewhere else, might want to find the correct place to post about it.

Is that supposed to be humor or …..?

I don't know?

 

[KCfromNC]

Is that supposed to be humor or …..?

I don't know?

It was a reference to the lack of relationship between the scenario described in your post and reality.

 

[KCfromNC]

What's important is why they are moving.

We could just go by the fact cited in the OP's article and conclude it is people retiring to somewhere warmer.

 

[FireDragon76]

Have you been to Florida? If so, have you spent any amount of time there during the summer? Most states in the US have their share of rubbish weather in some way or another.

The summer's are miserable but more people in Florida die from the cold than the heat.

People move to Florida from NY for the weather because they are retiring or downgrading- public services and schools here are garbage. Not because the business opportunities here are great: taxes are not favorable to entrepreneurs and the workforce is undereducated compared to other states . That ship sailed in the late 90's when the good ole boys network conspired to refuse to implement the sort of changes that would have allowed this place to be the next California. As it is, Florida is mostly a tourism, retirement, and agricultural state. It's not comparable to New York.

 

[iluvatar5150]

The summer's are miserable but more people in Florida die from the cold than the heat.

People move to Florida from NY for the weather because they are retiring or downgrading- public services and schools here are garbage. Not because the business opportunities here are great: taxes are not favorable to entrepreneurs and the workforce is undereducated compared to other states . That ship sailed in the late 90's when the good ole boys network conspired to refuse to implement the sort of changes that would have allowed this place to be the next California. As it is, Florida is mostly a tourism, retirement, and agricultural state. It's not comparable to New York.

Actually, it sounds a lot like upstate NY - aside from the weather, obviously. It's mostly rural, conservative, agricultural, and under-educated, with high-ish taxes. The upstate conservatives don't have quite as much power as the downstate liberals, so they're not able to push through all of their conservative ideals at the state level, but they put up a better fight than you might expect. So, the social services might be somewhat better than they are in similar states, but there are still a lot of deficiencies.

 

[FireDragon76]

Actually, it sounds a lot like upstate NY - aside from the weather, obviously. It's mostly rural, conservative, agricultural, and under-educated, with high-ish taxes. The upstate conservatives don't have quite as much power as the downstate liberals, so they've not able to push through all of their conservative ideals at the state level, but they put up a better fight than you might expect. So, the social services might be somewhat better than they are in similar states, but there are still a lot of deficiencies.

That's exactly how Florida is. It's not exactly as bad off as Mississippi, but people here are content with what amounts to mediocrity in many other states. And the state as a whole is oriented towards small towns and cities. Agriculture is still big in Florida, with many cities like Lakeland being oriented towards servicing agriculture and phosphate mining industries. Even the Orlando area has alot of ranching and agriculture.

People are not moving down here because they see it as a smart business move, they are moving here because they have arthritic joints and want to walk around in shorts all day.

 

[Endeavourer]

rural, conservative, agricultural, and under-educated

I'm so glad someone of your enlightenment can relegate these rubes into their proper place.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I'm so glad someone of your enlightenment can relegate these rubes into their proper place.

You're free to point out how I'm wrong. Heck, I'd love to be wrong - upstate NY is one of the few places I'm aware of where lakefront real estate is not rare, not grossly overbuilt and not horribly expensive though even that's less the case now than a decade or two ago. I could probably re-acclimate myself to the snow if it meant I could go water skiing all summer.