iluvatar5150
Well-Known Member
- Aug 3, 2012
- 25,245
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- US-Democrat
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.
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