What is Digg?192 Comments
- crispy, on 05/26/2009, -10/+79What you want to diminish, you tax. You want to reduce smoking, tax cigarettes. You want to reduce drinking, raise the alcohol taxes. You want to reduce the number of millionaires in your state, tax the millionaires in your state.
Whatever you do, don't reduce spending! /s - borez, on 05/26/2009, -10/+69Well WTF did they expect?
- bearsandbulls, on 05/26/2009, -9/+64Maryland Shrugged
- stutimandal, on 05/26/2009, -5/+39Taxes imposed after income tax sucks.
- Blinker1315, on 05/26/2009, -1/+31I live in MD, after living in Manhattan for many years. And while MD doesn't compare to New York or California, it's a high-tax state, with more coming.
- jofwooster, on 05/26/2009, -12/+41"One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. "
You mean public policies have consequences?
They lost more by raising those taxes than they ever could have hoped to gain... - maz2331, on 05/26/2009, -1/+25That 9.45% state/local rate is on top of Federal rates, and is a pretty substantial amount of money to pay out. Federal income tax rates at that bracket are 35%. Add in sales taxes and other miscellaneous fees and such, and it is easily approaching a total of 50% plus. That's about the breaking point for a lot of people.
From outside the USA, the individual tax rates don't seem too bad, but they are very cumulative in effect. Even the poor in the USA pay a 10% income tax plus an effective almost 16% payroll tax (half is paid by the employer, but that's just a way of hiding it), plus state income and sales taxes too. Easily a third of their income goes to taxes.
That 10% state tax is a huge incentive to move to a state that doesn't have an income tax, especially since the cost of living in those places is usually lower as well. - amabaie, on 05/26/2009, -19/+42Hmmm. Those don't sound like very high tax rates to me. I wish we paid that little in taxes.
- morningmatters, on 05/26/2009, -8/+29One would think that the main reason behind the reduction of tax revenues from millionaires is last year is because the economy stunk (especially for those who invest) and there are less rich people all around.
No one likes to pay taxes why is it that the people who are crying the loudest about the highest tax brackets are those who are not in that bracket? - IVillageIdiot, on 05/26/2009, -6/+24
How generous of you to allow others to do what they want to do with their own lives....
--"Fine they want to live elsewhere, let them"
How petty and typical of a Dem class warrior to THEN burn them to the ground for exorcizing their rights in a way inconsistent with YOUR desires for their money...
--"but they still own homes in Maryland. Jack up their property taxes"
And, finally:
-- “The Government wouldn't be long in finding a solution if it was the rank and file workers who were skipping town to avoid the taxes.”
1) The Government isn’t really into “finding solutions”, they are into the “Status Quo”.
2) The “solution” of which you speak, is sensationally “how do we rake in more of THEIR money”. That sounds more like a problem, rather than a solution.
3) I thought the government was supposed to solve OUR problems, not their problems?
4) If you believe there is a difference in the way a “worker” is treated/pursued by gvt, than they way they treat/pursue a “owner”, wouldn’t THAT be a much larger problem, one worth solving, rather then where do we get more money? - chiana78, on 05/26/2009, -6/+24My concern is that this will prompt attempts by MD, and other high income tax states with big budget shortfalls like NY & CA to follow suit, to create laws that will allow them to collect income taxes on non-residents who own homes in their state, even if they legally reside elsewhere. And if that is insufficient, what would their next move be? These states that are hemorrhaging wealthy citizens are getting desperate. Of course the simple alternative would be to get rid of their state income taxes altogether, and enjoy the fruits of being an income tax free state like TX has been, but then that would be entirely too smart of a move for them to make.
- cubeblue, on 05/26/2009, -6/+23"No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession."
- dshPls, on 05/26/2009, -4/+19We don't even get anything out of these taxes, Baltimore is 98% ***** with a couple of nice spots. Tax the damn drug dealers and gangsters out of the state.
- ByteMeAHole, on 05/26/2009, -0/+15MD, like California, and other states with a large number of people on the dole, is finding that more and more working class people are moving just over the border into neighboring states to escape not only the high income taxes, but the incredibly high property taxes.
If working class stiff are doing this, and putting up with tremendously long commutes, why would you expect any other group of people to not see the same benefits by leaving the state. And most of those with incomes in excess of 1million per year, have no need to stay in MD. So they just list their secondary residence, in Florida or TX, as their primary. Viola - no more egregious taxes. - inactive, on 05/26/2009, -10/+25This may come as a shock to you but it's the wealthy who make our paychecks possible. The only "job" I can get from somebody who's homeless would involve me giving them $20.
- kasjogren, on 05/26/2009, -1/+16I quit after the state I live in raised the taxes on them a couple years ago. I'm sorry, we have a Republican guv so it was a $.75 "health impact fee", not a tax...
But yeah, same effect. So I call ***** on your *****! (wasn't this a drinking game when I was younger and smoking?) - inactive, on 05/26/2009, -6/+20"No one likes to pay taxes why is it that the people who are crying the loudest about the highest tax brackets are those who are not in that bracket?"
You posed this very question, I answered it, and then you pretend there is no PGUP button :|
When a government raises taxes on the rich, all sorts of unintended consequences occur. Have you ever pondered the arrogance of placing an upper limit on the American Dream? Many people want the chance to become a millionaire.
BTW, accusations of ignorance and those bland anecdotes lend you no credibility. - niradg, on 05/26/2009, -28/+40Nobody is moving because of taxes. This story is totally full of *****. Most wealthy people have highly variable incomes- it may be high one year because of a bonus, stock sale, etc... In times like this, there are far fewer people reporting $1m+ incomes. It isn't rocket science, unless you're a conservative, in which case arithmetic may be beyond your reach.
- juankovo, on 05/26/2009, -1/+13It's not as if these are the only taxes they pay.
Any time you raise taxes, recession or not, you increase the power that government has over your life, directly or indirectly. An expansion of government is always accompanied by a contraction in liberty. - JohnGalt01, on 05/26/2009, -1/+12"but they still own homes in Maryland. Jack up their property taxes"
So they sell their houses in Maryland and add to the property glut. Added bonus, they spend their time and money elsewhere too. - cornhammer, on 05/26/2009, -1/+12Since anecdotal evidence is all that works on the internet, I can only offer this:
I personally know several people that were to meet with this insane move that did physically move out of state- 2 of them moved right over the state line into PA, one moved his residence to a British island.
Another brilliant move by the MD legislature was to tax businesses, small and large alike, to such a degree that MD is completely unattractive for new business and, in fact, drove a few existing ones over the border to Delaware.
All of your class warfare aside, if you pinch your "earners", they WILL get fed up and move elsewhere. - piznut, on 05/26/2009, -9/+20Which is more plausible.
a) 1000+ millionaires moved to avoid a tax increase taking losses on the sales of residences during a housing slump and incurring the other costs associated with moving
b) 1000+ millionaires last year aren't millionaires due to the ***** economy. - scuba7183, on 05/26/2009, -0/+10Live in Monroe County, NY. We get *****
- whiledo, on 05/26/2009, -6/+16It's amazing that even though the author realizes this, he continues to plow on with the class warfare stuff. Oh, wait, this is the WSJ OPINION page, isn't it? I forgot I was reading Rupert's diary.
- inactive, on 05/26/2009, -4/+14People should just stop paying taxes :D
- Tenareth, on 05/26/2009, -1/+11People do move for taxes. My family had to leave NJ when I was very young because the property taxes increased 25% year after year until the taxes were more than the mortgage. I've seen many people move out of states where taxes are crazy, especially if you are near the border of a state with less taxes.
- Tenareth, on 05/26/2009, -2/+12That is STATE Income tax, above and beyond the federal taxes.
- chrysrobyn, on 05/26/2009, -4/+13"What you want to diminish, you tax. You want to reduce smoking, tax cigarettes. You want to reduce drinking, raise the alcohol taxes. You want to reduce the number of millionaires in your state, tax the millionaires in your state."
So... we tax poor people, stupid people, bad teachers and mimes?
Tax _can_ be an instrument of social policy, but it's not the only way to earn revenue. If you want to tax millionaires, you need to do so in a manner that's not overly burdenful. An almost 10% tax right from the get-go is painful enough that single-residence people will move (or buy a vacation home), and double+ residence people will simply change their address. - zdwade, on 05/26/2009, -1/+10on top of a 7 percent sales tax, multiple other excise taxes, federal income taxes, capital gains taxes. at the end of the year the poor guy is paying over 50 percent of his income to the government. in a free country people should spread the wealth not the government. rich or poor we should be taxed a a bare minimum as taxes are slavery. i don't ever see govt getting smaller or politicians taking pay cuts.
- lexpattison, on 05/26/2009, -14/+23What a straw man argument!!!
All the Millionaires disappeared because they raised their taxes - are you kidding? Maybe they should cross-reference the census with the tax roles to actually get an accurate reading of how many actually "left" Maryland. This simply implies that all the so-called Millionaires were leveraged so badly that they no longer earn the income they previously enjoyed... which is obviously caused by the recession directly related to all the morons making idiotic cash off an inflated real estate market. - lyonsban, on 05/26/2009, -1/+9It doesn't occur to people that the cost of living is higher because the businesses that are trapped in a high tax States have to pass that tax on to the customers.
In low tax States stores are open at night because it costs less to hire someone to keep the lights on. People are nicer, they aren't over worked because the incremental cost of hiring another person to help is far less when the State isn't demanding half up front in payroll taxes. Heck everything is more relaxed. - kylere, on 05/26/2009, -4/+12c) 500+ millionaires did not take a loss on sales of residences during a housing slump and incurring the other costs associated with moving because everything is still where it was, they just changed their official residence to another location. The rest lost money, or actually DID move for other reasons.
Your argument is binary and as such fails. - RTFMA, on 05/26/2009, -2/+10The one problem I see with this is that not all states are going broke due to rampant tax and spend policies. There are plenty of states that can afford to keep taxes low due to responsible spending. They would love to welcome a whole lot more high-income people and their taxable incomes and purchases.
- PYRTN, on 05/26/2009, -2/+10Dude, its not about hiding. Raising taxes on anyone, including the rich, depresses the economy. When you do it to millionaires (who must be ***** because they're successful) they are usually managers or equity holders in companies who therefore will hire less, spend less etc.
Also, its about principle, how would you like it if you paid 50% of what you made to someone else because a politician or voter thought another person "deserved it" more than you. Work 6 months out of the year for free, I doubt you'll like how it feels. - BillE3, on 05/27/2009, -1/+9Animosity towards success is alive and thriving. Long live the parasites.
- ZenMojo, on 05/26/2009, -3/+11FTA
"No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession."
So what was the point of this article? - fantasticjon, on 05/26/2009, -0/+7And the corollary to that is: "what you want more of you subsidize." Obviously these principles are not universal, but they do work to a certain extent and they do apply in this situation.
- govsucks, on 05/27/2009, -2/+9My wife and I have spent the last 3 months searching for property in Costa Rica and talking with the Chamber of COmmerce about moving our business and JOBS there with us. We are getting ready to go down and meet with some other American business owners who have moved there. They have assured us that there are plenty of Costa Rican people who would love to have jobs and we have found some really nice self reliant homes for MUCH less than a house here. Plus no income tax, no capital gains tax, no social security, no medicare. My family will see a 30% increase in our income immediately and have a nicer home to boot. ***** you collectivist bastards and the government employee you rode in on. BTW, just keep laughing people like me off, you, your opinion and the force you and your GD representatives use against my family will be completely irrelevant soon.
- whiledo, on 05/26/2009, -4/+11First off, nothing here is about proof. It's about opinion. The link is to an opinion piece, which takes some initial numbers and offers the AUTHOR'S OPINION on what happened to make the numbers come out different. There's no proof that any millionaires left Maryland. The author even goes on to say that the majority of the difference in expected tax revenue and real revenue is due to the recession.
- crosquillas, on 05/26/2009, -12/+19"fleecing" millionaires, are you ***** kidding me.
- morningmatters, on 05/26/2009, -14/+21"This may come as a shock to you but it's the wealthy who make our paychecks possible"
I am shocked that people who don't know much about a topic take strong positions on that topic. This article argues that the rise of personal income tax for the highest bracket caused a shortfall in tax revenues coming from that group, while you are arguing that increasing personal taxes among the top will cause jobs to be lost. Unless you work in an unlikely mom-pop types of shop owned by wealthy millionaires, what do the personal taxe rates for the wealthy have to do with hiring practices? I have been working for large companies all my life and just because my personal income rates have increased as I moved up the management chain doesn't mean that I will hire any more people. I hire people because I see a current or expecting need, and only if my budget increases. This has everything to do with how much money the company is making and the relevant decisions made by the upper management and HR, rather than our incomes as individuals. All of this have little to do how much the wealthy have to pay for their personal taxes. - gijoe86, on 05/26/2009, -1/+7@yutt:
"I am aware of what the United States government is. I didn't even mention the US, I spoke of the power of democracy to bring equality."
"You think earned or inherited wealth is an inherent right, I think education, housing, and health are."
"They owe us everything they have. Society owes them nothing."
I'm trying to understand the fundamental discrepancy I have with your position. I agree with you that access to equitable education, housing, and health care should be the up most priority for a government. But your rancor towards the wealthy startles me.
It's my belief that there will always be an inequality in members who contribute to society. Some individuals or groups of individuals - no matter how equal the nurturing environment - will always be more beneficial, in the eyes of society, than others. In turn, should these segments not be compensated for their contributions?
Thus, the permanent state of inequality (at least in the scarcity economy of the present day). To punish those who succeed in producing what society wants - hence receiving wealth as compensation - is counterproductive. Out of your castigation of our system, You are calling for a meritless society, where there is no incentive for an individual to produce more than the next person in line.
All this because it makes the game "fair" in your eyes. You're right, it is not fair that even in today's broken system, an impoverished girl can become a billionaire (Oprah). All her hard work belongs to us! (/s) - Queue29, on 05/26/2009, -0/+6"They lost more by raising those taxes than they ever could have hoped to gain..."
See: Laffer Curve
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve - lyonsban, on 05/26/2009, -0/+6I disagree with the former, and agree with your conclusion. If you are a nonresident who works in Maryland and/or derives other income from a Maryland source, you are subject to Maryland's income tax rates as well as the special nonresident tax rate of 1.25 percent.
It looks like MD not only wants to lose anyone with any willingness to get out to a cheaper state, but they want to lose them as fast as possible.
This is exactly why we have States, rather than a single monolithic nation. - intothebreach, on 05/26/2009, -2/+8And Atlas Shrugged.
- IVillageIdiot, on 05/26/2009, -2/+8@Sean42
If I ONLY had a buck for each Neanderthal that quipped his last deriding the irrelevancy that is my label.
If you actually had a brain, or could read, you would have noticed in the first line, where I said:
"that is the same tactic and objective of the Soviet Empire"
What you've proposed is EXACTLY what the Soviets were trying. Their "system" could not maintain control without extending domination over EVERYONE... that is what you're arguing:
"The answer: Have all 50 states raise the tax rate on blah blah blah...."
And once they move from America because they don't wish to be subjected to your dominion and confiscations, what then? They move? What will your new "Answer" be...???
Well, we'll just extend it world wide (no doubt) and what is the consequence of that?
Blood dumbass.... - SpykerSpeed, on 05/26/2009, -3/+9Taxing millionaires causes them to invest less, which causes the pool of capital available to businesses to drop, causing them to decrease their payrolls.
You can couch your philosophy of theft in all sorts of beautiful, flowery language, but in the end you are the one who doesn't understand economics. - Taiyoryu, on 05/26/2009, -1/+7People making less than $100K pay no taxes? Where was that line item on my tax return?
- lyonsban, on 05/26/2009, -0/+6Every State I know of taxes non-residents and charges them more for being a non-resident. My home in Florida for instance is taxed approximately 500 times more than it would be if I lived there. I live in the Northeast and I'd drop that house like a hot rock if Florida taxed my income on top of the outrageous State taxes I already pay though. Then Florida would be out the money I spend down there as well as my property taxes and they are substantial.
- markusfarkus, on 05/26/2009, -3/+9So what do you think is a fair tax rate that allows someone making $10K a year to actually live and someone making $10M to not feel like they're paying too much?
Why is it BS to have someone that makes so much more than what is necessary to live comfortably pay more in taxes? Because, the person making minimum wage is certainly not receiving EXACTLY the same protections as the wealthy person. That's some BS right there. -
Show 51 - 100 of 193 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is