Soak the Rich, Drain the Swamp
By Amit Singh | Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 | PolicyOur terrapin neighbors to the north had a budget shortfall last year, so in their infinite wisdom they decided the 3,000 millionaires in their state would be “willing and able to pay their fair share” with a tax hike. Well a year later, roughly a third of those millionaires are no longer paying taxes in Maryland.
A number of lessons here. First, the rich have the resources to figure out ways to protect their wealth. Second, increasing penalties decreases incentives. While the first two are obvious to many, the third is less understood. The U.S. Constitution allows the States to compete with and learn from one another. Instead of having one Federal “solution” to a problem, the States offer many alternatives. Whether it is marriage, gun control or taxes, the citizens have a choice and more influence on their local politicians, but when they are truly unhappy with a decision they can move to a state more of their liking. So what is Virginia going to do to attract those 1,000 millionaires fleeing Maryland?
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5 Responses to "Soak the Rich, Drain the Swamp"
I was wondering when you’d find your way back.
As a resident of Virginia for three years and part of the youth demographic, (25) I would probably represent the person Virginia would be looking to attract to their state.
And as someone who is considering leaving Virginia I can tell you unequivocally one of the largest reasons is the state income tax. Putting additional sales & property taxes aside, moving to a state like Florida, Texas, Nevada, New Hampshire, etc, gives me an automatic 5% pay raise, (Virginia has about a 5% state income tax.)
Removing the state income tax would be one of the the clearest ways to attract new businesses and bring higher income individuals to the area.
Well, Steve, at least you won’t be moving to Maryland which is even worse. At least in Virginia there’s a question as to whether we’re more Democrat or Republican. Maryland is a definitely a step or two closer to socialism.
You would think politicians would learn from this. California has had massive amounts of people escape. Mostly so far, history just repeats itself.
Why, even VB and Hampton Roads have see population drops! Will VB learn anything? I wouldn’t bet on it.
funny thing is that many folks from Mass moved to New Hampshire and didn’t remember what they ran away from.
To answer your question: fix the traffic problem by selling off the interstates to private companies who turn them into HOT (aka Lexus) lanes.
Oh! but it is hard to beat Texas and Florida. Both have unlimited homestead exemptions in bankruptcy. Assuming your creditors can’t pull you into federal court, that’s a sweet deal (I think that’s how those Enron boys got to keep their fancy mansions in River Oaks). And no income tax in Texas, just oppressively high property taxes. Though still if you are making big bucks, that property tax is probably nothing in comparison.
Oh, I didn’t see Steve’s point. I encourage you to do the math on total tax burden and total cost of living, because Virginia is sweet in comparison to Texas for a not fabulously wealthy person like myself. And insurance rates for both your home and auto are way less money than Texas. Property prices may be lower, but they are probably so severely depressed since property taxes are so astronomically high and you have to pay them to more jurisdictions than you can count on one hand if you happen to live in say a city (state, county, independent school district, city, county hospitals, and municipal utility district, where applicable). Not to mention, if you live in a city in Texas, you are probably paying 8.25% (at least the last time I lived there) in sales tax. Things could be worse though, you could be choosing to move to Louisiana. HA! I laugh at just writing it.
Also, on the bonus side for Texas, you have to elect basically everyone in state government. So, the ballot is like a big book. And every election, the legislature, which only meets biennially (which is really a Godsend, lest they fuck things up more than they already do), insists on adding an amendment to the longest constitution among US states. So, you get to vote on those too.
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