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I dont think so. People with incomes over $500K have the economic flexibility to live where they want. Will a millionaire move from Long Island to Conn. to lo

by russell 18y ago

I dont think so. People with incomes over $500K have the economic flexibility to live where they want. Will a millionaire move from Long Island to Conn. to lower hes taxes? In general no. Northern CA is a magnet for talent and millionaires in spite of expensive housing, high taxes, and miserable transportation. The weather is good though. These considerations hit the middle class harder. During downturns people leave CA, because of the costs.

ryanwaggoner 18y ago
The comparison of Northern CA to NYC isn't really a fair one, as there are no non-CA options for living in the Bay Area, but you can live in CT and still do business in NY.
- russell 18y ago
  Agreed, but I dont think many high income individuals will pull their families even from Westchester to Conn. to save a few $K. Also taxes follow your place of employment/business not residence. So someone who has to commute to Manhattan isnt going to save anything.
Kadin 18y ago
> Will a millionaire move from Long Island to Conn. to lower hes taxes? In general no. I'm not sure why you don't think they would. It's not as though lots of people don't already commute from CT and NJ into New York. There's commuter rail, and probably less traffic than you'd get on Long Island. CT's southwestern towns in particular used to have a reputation as the suburb for the wealthy (the so-called "Gold Coast" area), in large part because it didn't have any personal income tax at all. That's no longer the situation, but if NY decides to play the class-warfare game, the rich can take their money elsewhere quite easily.
tc 18y ago
Your thought process is suffering from selection bias. You're thinking to yourself, "California taxes are high but lots of smart people still live there." Yes, those people do, because there are enough offsetting positive factors for these folks that CA is still a reasonable deal for them compared to the alternatives. There are also plenty of smart and wealthy folks who live in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Florida, in part, because the taxes are lower. As with any marginal change to a policy, you have to look at the effect on the marginal cases. You have to ask, "if taxes in CA were reduced by X%, what Y% more smart and wealthy people would choose to live there?" I guarantee Y > 0 for any X > 0.

by russell 18y ago

ryanwaggoner 18y ago

The comparison of Northern CA to NYC isn't really a fair one, as there are no non-CA options for living in the Bay Area, but you can live in CT and still do business in NY.

russell 18y ago
Agreed, but I dont think many high income individuals will pull their families even from Westchester to Conn. to save a few $K. Also taxes follow your place of employment/business not residence. So someone who has to commute to Manhattan isnt going to save anything.

Kadin 18y ago

> Will a millionaire move from Long Island to Conn. to lower hes taxes? In general no. I'm not sure why you don't think they would. It's not as though lots of people don't already commute from CT and NJ into New York. There's commuter rail, and probably less traffic than you'd get on Long Island. CT's southwestern towns in particular used to have a reputation as the suburb for the wealthy (the so-called "Gold Coast" area), in large part because it didn't have any personal income tax at all. That's no longer the situation, but if NY decides to play the class-warfare game, the rich can take their money elsewhere quite easily.

tc 18y ago

Your thought process is suffering from selection bias. You're thinking to yourself, "California taxes are high but lots of smart people still live there." Yes, those people do, because there are enough offsetting positive factors for these folks that CA is still a reasonable deal for them compared to the alternatives. There are also plenty of smart and wealthy folks who live in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Florida, in part, because the taxes are lower. As with any marginal change to a policy, you have to look at the effect on the marginal cases. You have to ask, "if taxes in CA were reduced by X%, what Y% more smart and wealthy people would choose to live there?" I guarantee Y > 0 for any X > 0.