Lindsay Owens, president and CEO of Groundwork Collaborative, said the new data makes clear that “tax flight is nothing more than a myth, and should be given as much credence as flat-earthers.”
“If there was any merit to the myth that tax increases on New York’s wealthy drive them away, the new IRS data should show it,” said Owens. “It doesn’t—New York’s millionaire population kept climbing years after the state raised taxes on top earners.”
Same thing happened in 2023 when Massachusetts imposed a 4% millionaire tax. Everyone parroted that businesses would leave, but the opposite happened. People moved in and the number of millionaires increased overtime.
Dang it. What else can we try? 🤣
👉🏻
What about billionaires?
A millionaire is hardly rich these days, especially somewhere like New York. That’s barely enough to buy a modest apartment. I would describe that as middle class. The fact that so few formerly middle class people are now working poor is a significant issue IMHO. Genuine question - what are the stats for billionaires?
Yeah the term hits both people with $2m and $850m. That said there are maybe 1,000 billionares in the U.S. and where they live is everywhere, they have too much money to not accidentally multiple houses. So if you have almost 200 billionaires in California, they also own homes in NY, Florida, or wherever else. Texas has a number.
The issue in NYC was that many of them live there full-time, but they declare a property in Florida or Texas or some other American tax haven as their primary residence, and beat NY and NYC out of their income taxes. So Mamdani has figured out a way to squeeze money out of these deadbeat financial hoarders anyway.
I suspect a lot of these “new” millionaire residents are just the same people who have shifted their primary residences to NYC because their accountants did the calculations, and it’s cheaper to pay the state and city income taxes, which can be manipulated, than the pied-a-terre tax.
Either way NY benefits. They’re not giving up their residence so whether they pay the higher pied-a-terre tax or less in primary residence tax, the city gets more revenue from them regardless compared to the 0 tax they paid previously.
Yeah I don’t know how the states would investigate someone and prove they spent above/below 6 months at a location, and once you have say 4 houses, proving your primary residence should be A and not B, C, or D would get messy.
The rich benefit when services are provided that keep the non rich around. It increases community vitality, food is better c culture is better, overall life quality is better.
The rich should be taxed for their own good, they may not like it but it is absolutely in their best interest.
Yeah, shocking that when you don’t force people into a life of poverty and semi decent small businesses are capable of existing…the areas suddenly start getting a little safer and people with disposable income stimulate the local economy
Rich people only pay taxes when they sell assets. Their “income” is usually loans against those assets.
Their rich do not contribute, they extract. That’s how they became rich. They need us, our cities, our labor, and our tax funded infrastructure to run their businesses. That’s why they come and that’s why they won’t leave.
That isn’t the natural order of the universe, some immutable law, like Gravity.
We can change that, and make those sorts of financial schemes illegal. We can force them to live off their money, and tax it as they access it. We can change the rules anytime we want.
You’re right, and that’s why their threats to leave [insert city, state, country here] if they don’t get their way should always be ignored. It’s empty posturing from the Epstein class.
It’s not even a good threat. Like, do you know how much we hate you? Go if you’re not going to make it worth it to have you around. We’ll be better off.
They want to live where its nice and safe and clean. Well high taxes goes to that so why would they leave to places with lower tax and higher crime and grime?
Exactly. The article doesn’t explicitly make that point, but it’s like… Lots of people are willing to pay higher rent for an apartment complex with a pool, even if their neighbors also get to enjoy the pool.
I know it’s a metaphor, but I do find it weird that I never lived in an apartment complex with a pool where people actually used the pool.
It’s almost like millionaires generally like to be around civilization, places with infrastructure, and things to do. I’m shocked!
Families of millionaires like to live like millionaires, with lots of places to shop, eat, be entertained, and spend their money. They want to do that in a place that has all that stuff, but is also safe. NYC was starting to feel less safe again under the last few mayors. Apparently, the Sociopathic Oligarchs feel differently about Mamdani’s NYC.
So the rich people lied to us???
No way!!1
I would expect capital flight to be somewhat dose dependent but it’s pretty clear it’s a non-issue at the level of taxation we’re discussing these days.
It’s such a weird argument. “They’ll leave if you tax 'em!” OK, let’s say that’s true. Good riddance, what’s the downside? And seeing over and over that it’s not true, what’s the downside?
