Posted on 05/26/2009 5:20:28 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it."
One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year -- even at higher rates.
No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession. However, this is one reason that depending on the rich to finance government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of cash during good times that vanish during recessions. For evidence, consult California, New York and New Jersey.
The Maryland state revenue office says it's "way too early" to tell how many millionaires moved out of the state when the tax rates rose. But no one disputes that some rich filers did leave. It's easier than the redistributionists think. Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, notes: "Marylanders with high incomes typically own second homes in tax friendlier states" [and can move there].
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Stupid is, as stupid does.
Just a matter of time before states start passing “reciprocation” laws (to be upheld by the USSC, of course) stating that if someone leaves a state, they owe taxes to their former state AND their new state for a period of 5 years (or some other arbitrary length of time).
Who’d live there anyway? It’s an armpit!
Let the Galting begin!
We will just see if the middle class will pick up the tax burden or will pick up and move as well. Atlas is shrugging in localized blue states, and they are heading for galts gulch.
Why does the state comptroller have to CONCEDE anything? It gives the impression (probably accurately) that the state is more interested in soaking the "rich" than in balancing the books or accurately reporting finances.
Outside of Montgomery, Prince Georges and Baltimore counties, as well as Baltimore itself, the state ain’t half-bad. In fact it’s downright pretty.
However, it’s very easy for the rich and not-so-rich to leave for lower tax states like VA, WV, and maybe even PA, and not substantially impact their quality of life, commutes, etc.
...my wife and I fled Maryland 3 years ago and retired in rural NC....the county we live in now is 98% white...we have good schools/honest government/low crime/low taxes...what a difference from the Old Line State!
In honor of the 44th President of the United States, Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream has introduced a new flavor; “Barocky Road.”
Barocky Road is a blend of half-Vanilla, half-Chocolate, and surrounded by Nuts and Flakes. The Vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually denied as an ingredient.
The Nuts and Flakes are all very bitter and hard to swallow. The cost is $100.00 per scoop.
When purchased, it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, but then the Ice Cream is taken away and given to the person in line behind you.
Thus, you are left with an empty Wallet, no change, holding an empty cone, with no hope of getting any Ice Cream.
Are you feeling stimulated?
If that were to happen they would leave the country and take their fortunes with them. I believe the Swiss would welcome them with open arms.
Life is good at those beach resort communities in Delaware
And Florida in the fall/winter/spring with a few vacation weeks back in MD in the summer- would work for me
Millionares also have a lot of freedom to adjust their income because they are often owners of their own businesses. Instead of taking money out as income, they can choose to put the income back into their business, cutting their income and taxes, and waiting for a better time to take it out again.
excellent
ping
One of the “boxes of liberty” is the Moving Box.
The left has tried to seal this box by making all policy at the federal level so that you cannot escape their despotism by moving to another state.
Time for the states to put up some walls and not allow unconstitutional laws to affect their citizens.
He, the Zero is a piece of s===
Funny.Also,the nuts are small.
Didn’t a California state legislator try to introduce that recently? I haven’t heard another thing about it.
There is going to come a time, probably sooner not later, when people will refuse to obey laws that they feel are unfair or detrimental to them whether or not the courts uphold them. If enough peons feel that way, watch out.
That's where the "chocolate" in the ice cream originates.
It's not that they're "stupid." That really has nothing to do with it. It's because of the way the liberal mind thinks. Though most liberals have no idea of this, Marxism is based on a way of thinking that seeks to break everything down into its simplest, individual parts, and then by understanding each of those parts, you can understand the whole. The problem is that once you've done that, they don't take the next step... To understand the interaction between those parts. That's why whenever there's a liberal solution to a problem, there are always disastrous "unintended consequences." Because they never look at a problem as a part of a dynamic system. They don't realize (or refuse to realize, is more likely) that for every action, there will be a reaction, and that when you apply a force to a dynamic system, that will cause action somewhere else in the system.
The simple answer is that politicians believed that "the rich" will just "stand and take it" because... Well, why wouldn't they? It's not like people will actually act in their own best interest...
Mark
They’ll start setting up “border guards” and making you pay the state sales tax when you come back in...
I believe that a law was passed that will place an onerous tax on your money should you decide to expatriate and leave the country, taking your fortunes with you. And the Swiss will report you if you try to sneak out.
Mark
Meldrim Thompson, Jr. knew what to do with Massachusetts revenuers.
I believe that would be the “Bowman” side of my tagline.
GEEEEE— Tennessee is HOW close??????
Too bad that couldn’t be a billboard-———Or can it???
Didn’t Massachusetts try to sue New Hampshire for sales taxes on tires that were bought in a store near the border?
How large a margin of ‘border overlap’ do these fools think they can impose?
One of these days, the right is going to realize the exodus of the rich is EXACTLY WHAT THE LEFT WANTS!
If I had the money, I would seriously consider it too...
But is that “fighting”? or “running”?
If you are a rich patriot, I would encourage you to stay and fight... not cut and run.
They can tell us how much of what we earn is to be paid in taxes...
But they cannot tell us how much to earn.
You were obviously thinking about ordinary, hard-working people like us. But this is SOP for people on the other side. Geithner and Emmanuel have already decided to not obey the tax laws that they feel are unfair to them. And democrats have long ignored voting rules they feel are unfair to them by double voting, dead voting, thuggery at polls, etc. The list goes on and on. It is not right one side consistently plays by the rules and the other side just as consistently flouts them.
Your last sentence defines the liberal quandary. Redistribution of wealth is in the best interests of the rich, according to the socialist mind set. You can have long arguments with them about it.
If we have universal health care, you won’t have to buy health insurance for your butler . . .
If we increase the minimum wage, your workers will perform up to the wage they’re paid . . .
If we have more government services, there will be less crime and you’ll live in a better society . . .
It invariably ends on the same principle: If we take more of your stuff, you’ll be happier.
When people of wealth leave they also take jobs with them.....I would think they would take their business with them, therefore leaving a few more unemployed in their wake.....
Because they never look at a problem as a part of a dynamic system. They ...
That really is true. I would phrase it a different way, but the synergy of a society is a subtle, but totally essential characteristic of its civilized success.
Try imparting that to an American high school (or college) kid these days. You touch on a deep sociopathology here.
When I lived in NH the state of Massachusetts put a large appliance company out of business by suing them and seizing their assets. Their store was in NH but they had a warehouse in MA and the state decided that they were luring MA residents across the border to sell them appliances and avoid the sales tax.
Most millionaires are pretty darn smart, that's why they are millionaires!
It doesn't even take a politician's IQ to shift income to tax free investments. Or redecorate the office, buy shiny new equipment or lease a new car, and to deduct those expenses from gross revenues.
Yes,that did happen and,as a response,the New Hampshire legislature (controlled by RATS,surprisingly) passed a law forbidding NH businesses to do what MA tried to force them to do (the malls on the border are very important to NH's economy).
And as for border guards,I've read that MA has already tried that.I've read that they have state cops cruising the mall parking lots (in unmarked cars) looking for MA plates.I'm not sure if it's true but I can *absolutely* see them doing it (two of the biggest malls are literally within sight of the state border).I know that they've done that for fireworks....which are legal in NH and illegal in MA.
The only way to fight the beast is to starve it....work as little overtime as possible, cut your income if possible, but not enough to hurt you or your family, put off large purchases to avoid the sales tax...time to commence Operation Thrift, starve the beast...
“Who’d live there anyway? It’s an armpit!”
Maryland is a gorgeous place if you leave out the politics of Baltimore and the D.C. burbs.
Actually, NY has been known to send police outside the state to take down license plates of NY cars shopping at non-NY stores, precisely for this purpose.
no, i'd say fighting would be to move to a place with a much lower tax rate. hit the liberal taxers where it hurts: their own bottom line. THAT is fighting.
Something like this happened in Canada back inthe 1980s.
I know there are already border guards but still:
There were so many Canadians driving over the border and shopping in the US (I was stationed in Grand Forks, ND at the time) that the malls and shopping centers within about 200 miles of the border had more Canadian registered cars in the lots than US.
Canada imposed a larger import tax, about 19 percent IIRC, but the Canadians would then come into the states with all their old, ratty, clothing, shoes, and other goods and then throw them into the dumpsters in the store parking lots.
At the end of the weekend shopping in the states they would then take all the tags and any proof of purchase and dispose of them, wear all new clothing as well, and then go back home and not declare as much stuff as they possibly could.
I remember the Canadian Gov't reporting that the actual receipts from collecting the tax was no where near their estimations.
AND, the losing state can immediately seize some assets of the rich to be held in 'escrow' until the departed pays the tax.
“Outside of Montgomery, Prince Georges and Baltimore counties, as well as Baltimore itself, the state ain’t half-bad. In fact it’s downright pretty”.
...I was in Cockeysville/Hunt Valley last week for an overnight. It’s very nice with loads of old McCain stickers and very few, if any BO stickers. Old, rich conservative area. Lots of “For Sale” signs.
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