4 ms·

Not trying to troll, but do you have data for Connecticut that contradicts the data presented in the article?

uptown 9y ago
It's not only taxes, but taxes have played a major role in the state's poor business climate. Some of the state's major employers have moved or threatened to move out of the state in order to motivate other states to offer financial incentives to stay. GE left for Boston [1]. Aetna left for New York [2]. Stamford grew to support UBS and RBS, only to see them depart ... leaving enormous vacancies in prime real estate. You can find varying polls rating the business climate, but Connecticut has been ranked towards the bottom of many of those [4], with the state capital facing potential bankruptcy. State and Local Tax Burden Rankings study reported that Americans paid an average rate of 9.9 percent in state and local taxes in 2012. According to the foundation, the five highest state-local tax states were [4]: New York 12.7 % Connecticut 12.6% New Jersey 12.2% Illinois 11.0% California and Wisconsin 11.0% 2014 CNBC Top States for Business (Connecticut ranked #46) [5]: Economy – 49th Cost of living – 48th Cost of doing business – 47th Infrastructure – 42th [1] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429874/ge-leaves-connecticut-boston-blame-taxes http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429874/ge-leaves-conne... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-29/aetna-s-departure-from-connecticut-latest-hit-to-embattled-state https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-29/aetna-s-d... [3] http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20170509/NEWS01/170509928/survey-ct-ranked-5th-worst-state-for-business http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20170509/NEWS01/1705... [4] https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/fun-facts/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-taxes/L6HPAVqSF https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/fun-facts/states-with-t... [5] http://www.ctcpas.org/content/26536.aspx http://www.ctcpas.org/content/26536.aspx
throwaway2016a 9y ago
Not proof but a strong anecdote. My parents have lived in Connecticut for their entire life (they are in their 70's) and are thinking of leaving. The primary reason they cite is taxes. And that is personal income, sales, property and estate tax, and my parents are middle class not rich. Many people I know are doing the same thing. But I'm not sure it is all taxes. A lot of jobs are leaving CT for the business powerhouses of New York City and Boston. So there are few jobs and very little incentive for young people to stay because there is nothing for them in the state. I left CT for Boston MA for college when I turned 18. I will never move back to that state in a billion years even with family still there.
- actsasbuffoon 9y ago
  Connecticut's estate tax only applies to estates worth over $2,000,000. Either that doesn't apply to your parents' estate, or they're probably doing better than middle class. Connecticut's income tax ranges from 3%-6.7%, which is pretty decent. The upper percentage is almost the same as my state's lowest! Admittedly, my state has higher than average income tax rates.
  - throwaway2016a 9y ago
    I misspoke, I should have included sales and property tax. When you take sales tax into consideration Connecticut has a much higher burden than just considering income alone. Edited my post accordingly. > Connecticut's estate tax only applies to estates worth over $2,000,000. Either that doesn't apply to your parents' estate, or they're probably doing better than middle class. There is a third option. He actually saved what the retirement planners recommend you save. Never went on vacations, never bought any luxuries, and was generally very frugal. My father literally put every penny he had past food and shelter into retirement savings... add 60 years of interest, dividends, and market gains and $2M is not so crazy. It also helps that he bought his house for $50k 40 years ago and it is now worth quite a bit more. When he was working he was upper middle class for sure but still firmly in the middle class. He was also upper middle because he worked a blue collar job with plenty of overtime options and literally worked close to 40 hours of overtime a week for 50 years. The truly upper class don't need to work 80 hours a week. Is he typical? No way. Would I even want to lie like that? No way either. But it is how he is able to be effected by estate tax and still be middle class.

It's not only taxes, but taxes have played a major role in the state's poor business climate. Some of the state's major employers have moved or threatened to move out of the state in order to motivate other states to offer financial incentives to stay. GE left for Boston [1]. Aetna left for New York [2]. Stamford grew to support UBS and RBS, only to see them depart ... leaving enormous vacancies in prime real estate. You can find varying polls rating the business climate, but Connecticut has been ranked towards the bottom of many of those [4], with the state capital facing potential bankruptcy. State and Local Tax Burden Rankings study reported that Americans paid an average rate of 9.9 percent in state and local taxes in 2012. According to the foundation, the five highest state-local tax states were [4]: New York 12.7 % Connecticut 12.6% New Jersey 12.2% Illinois 11.0% California and Wisconsin 11.0% 2014 CNBC Top States for Business (Connecticut ranked #46) [5]: Economy – 49th Cost of living – 48th Cost of doing business – 47th Infrastructure – 42th [1] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429874/ge-leaves-connecticut-boston-blame-taxes http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429874/ge-leaves-conne... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-29/aetna-s-departure-from-connecticut-latest-hit-to-embattled-state https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-29/aetna-s-d... [3] http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20170509/NEWS01/170509928/survey-ct-ranked-5th-worst-state-for-business http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20170509/NEWS01/1705... [4] https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/fun-facts/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-taxes/L6HPAVqSF https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/fun-facts/states-with-t... [5] http://www.ctcpas.org/content/26536.aspx http://www.ctcpas.org/content/26536.aspx

throwaway2016a 9y ago

Not proof but a strong anecdote. My parents have lived in Connecticut for their entire life (they are in their 70's) and are thinking of leaving. The primary reason they cite is taxes. And that is personal income, sales, property and estate tax, and my parents are middle class not rich. Many people I know are doing the same thing. But I'm not sure it is all taxes. A lot of jobs are leaving CT for the business powerhouses of New York City and Boston. So there are few jobs and very little incentive for young people to stay because there is nothing for them in the state. I left CT for Boston MA for college when I turned 18. I will never move back to that state in a billion years even with family still there.

actsasbuffoon 9y ago
Connecticut's estate tax only applies to estates worth over $2,000,000. Either that doesn't apply to your parents' estate, or they're probably doing better than middle class. Connecticut's income tax ranges from 3%-6.7%, which is pretty decent. The upper percentage is almost the same as my state's lowest! Admittedly, my state has higher than average income tax rates.
- throwaway2016a 9y ago
  I misspoke, I should have included sales and property tax. When you take sales tax into consideration Connecticut has a much higher burden than just considering income alone. Edited my post accordingly. > Connecticut's estate tax only applies to estates worth over $2,000,000. Either that doesn't apply to your parents' estate, or they're probably doing better than middle class. There is a third option. He actually saved what the retirement planners recommend you save. Never went on vacations, never bought any luxuries, and was generally very frugal. My father literally put every penny he had past food and shelter into retirement savings... add 60 years of interest, dividends, and market gains and $2M is not so crazy. It also helps that he bought his house for $50k 40 years ago and it is now worth quite a bit more. When he was working he was upper middle class for sure but still firmly in the middle class. He was also upper middle because he worked a blue collar job with plenty of overtime options and literally worked close to 40 hours of overtime a week for 50 years. The truly upper class don't need to work 80 hours a week. Is he typical? No way. Would I even want to lie like that? No way either. But it is how he is able to be effected by estate tax and still be middle class.