4 ms·

This opinion piece overstates its case. NC has a flat 5.25% income tax. Alaska has no income tax. Yet NC is growing and Alaska shrinking. There’s a lot more goi

by js2 7y ago

This opinion piece overstates its case. NC has a flat 5.25% income tax. Alaska has no income tax. Yet NC is growing and Alaska shrinking. There’s a lot more going on with where people choose to live than just tax rates. The Economist did a special report last year comparing Texas and California, looking at a lot more than just tax rates. They are the two largest states facing many similar problems with very different approaches. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/06/20/texafornia-dreaming https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/06/20/texafornia-drea... https://www.economist.com/special-report/2019/06/20/california-and-texas-have-different-visions-for-americas-future https://www.economist.com/special-report/2019/06/20/californ...

zaroth 7y ago
What does NC have to do with it? In any case, income tax is just one part of the total state tax burden, often overshadowed by property tax. > Over the last decade New York has lost more of its population to other states (7.2%) than any other save Alaska (8%), followed by Illinois (6.8%), Connecticut (5.6%) and New Jersey (5.5%).
- js2 7y ago
  The piece makes the argument that state income taxes are causing people to leave. It used NC as an example of a state that’s growing. Yet NC has a state income tax higher than some of the states that are shrinking. Yes there are other taxes, but the piece focuses entirely on income tax. My point is that there are many factors in where people choose to live, of which cost of living is only a single factor, but this piece lazily focuses solely on a single component of cost of living. It’s thus easy to invalidate its argument that income taxes are what’s causing people to leave.
  - zaroth 7y ago
    TFA does not focus purely on income taxes, but rather the overall tax burden. NC is ranked 26th in terms of overall tax burden. [1] Rich people aren’t paying regular income tax rates as their primary tax burden. They pay property, capital gains, and corporate tax rates. I think NC is considered very good for corporate rates, and middle of the road for personal, property, and capital gains rates. [2] [1] - https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494/ https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-bur... [2] - https://taxfoundation.org/publications/state-business-tax-climate-index/ https://taxfoundation.org/publications/state-business-tax-cl...
- Spooky23 7y ago
  New York taxes have always been high and if anything have stabilized. There are two New Yorks... the NYC Metro and the rest. NYC has adapted, although it is not as diversified as it was. As for the rest, de-industrialization left devastation in the upstate cities, and now whole regions of upstate are depopulating as trade, agricultural and military policies change. North Carolina is relevant because you can move there and live with marginal skills for now. Taxes aren’t really that low, and will jump as the needs of the population get factored in.
Spooky23 7y ago
It’s the WSJ, so you always have to price that into anything they say, particularly in the post-Murdoch era. There are definitely more jobs in the south driving young people migration. Taxes get attention because republicans love talking about them, but it’s mostly bunk. I know when my parents were considering moving to SC, the property taxes were an initial draw, but when you factor HOA and food sales tax, the savings weren’t as big as initially thought. The secret to the growth is all about business taxes and regulations. As a business owner, you just won’t get away with things in “high tax” states that you will in the others.

by js2 7y ago

zaroth 7y ago

What does NC have to do with it? In any case, income tax is just one part of the total state tax burden, often overshadowed by property tax. > Over the last decade New York has lost more of its population to other states (7.2%) than any other save Alaska (8%), followed by Illinois (6.8%), Connecticut (5.6%) and New Jersey (5.5%).

js2 7y ago
The piece makes the argument that state income taxes are causing people to leave. It used NC as an example of a state that’s growing. Yet NC has a state income tax higher than some of the states that are shrinking. Yes there are other taxes, but the piece focuses entirely on income tax. My point is that there are many factors in where people choose to live, of which cost of living is only a single factor, but this piece lazily focuses solely on a single component of cost of living. It’s thus easy to invalidate its argument that income taxes are what’s causing people to leave.
- zaroth 7y ago
  TFA does not focus purely on income taxes, but rather the overall tax burden. NC is ranked 26th in terms of overall tax burden. [1] Rich people aren’t paying regular income tax rates as their primary tax burden. They pay property, capital gains, and corporate tax rates. I think NC is considered very good for corporate rates, and middle of the road for personal, property, and capital gains rates. [2] [1] - https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494/ https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-bur... [2] - https://taxfoundation.org/publications/state-business-tax-climate-index/ https://taxfoundation.org/publications/state-business-tax-cl...
Spooky23 7y ago
New York taxes have always been high and if anything have stabilized. There are two New Yorks... the NYC Metro and the rest. NYC has adapted, although it is not as diversified as it was. As for the rest, de-industrialization left devastation in the upstate cities, and now whole regions of upstate are depopulating as trade, agricultural and military policies change. North Carolina is relevant because you can move there and live with marginal skills for now. Taxes aren’t really that low, and will jump as the needs of the population get factored in.

Spooky23 7y ago

It’s the WSJ, so you always have to price that into anything they say, particularly in the post-Murdoch era. There are definitely more jobs in the south driving young people migration. Taxes get attention because republicans love talking about them, but it’s mostly bunk. I know when my parents were considering moving to SC, the property taxes were an initial draw, but when you factor HOA and food sales tax, the savings weren’t as big as initially thought. The secret to the growth is all about business taxes and regulations. As a business owner, you just won’t get away with things in “high tax” states that you will in the others.