7.17.09
In the “interesting but EXPECTED” twist department:
Maryland attempted last year to hit high earners with a surtax in order to balance their budget. According to a Wall Street Journal Article, The governor said that these people were “willing and able to pay their fair share.” (Love the fair share language, it’s so subjectively based to the perspective of the person speaking).
Apparently some weren’t so willing. Tax filers in that bracket (above $1M income) dropped from 3,000 to 2,000 last year. Read the article:
Perhaps the economy had an affect but I’m sure more than a few picked up and left for Florida. This is a taste for the US if all of these clowns in Congress start surtaxing Americans. We will see productive Americans leaving the US to set up shop elsewhere (Singapore, New Zealand, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong?). And overall tax revenues will decline further.
The lack of basic economic knowledge among Americans is the only reason ridiculous arguments such as raising taxes on productive people gets any merit. if people knew, or even if more people knew what went into growing and running a normal business (no ipo money types), they would understand that it makes sense to stimulate and attractive creative, enterprising people with low cost of capital and low taxes on the fruits of their labor – then they will be more willing to come here and create jobs.
For an interesting analysis of incentives, including immigration law follies, see my articles on A123 systems and its immigrant founder HERE.
Chris Grande
