Brain Drain, American Style
How’s that “pay their fair share” thing working out for ya? Well:
The number of Americans renouncing their citizenship has more than doubled over the past year, from 3,805 in 2011 to about 8,000 in 2012. The Post does not introduce any hard data to establish the income level of these expatriates, but quotes a lawyer from a firm that “specializes in protecting assets of the wealthy” who explains that “high-net-worth individuals are making decisions that having a U.S. passport just isn’t worth the cost anymore.”
The cost of escaping American taxation is a 15 percent exit tax on all assets, while preferred tax-haven destinations include Australia, Norway, Singapore (where Facebook billionaire Eduardo Saverin headed) and the U.S. possessions in the Caribbean, where full-time residents pay an effective tax rate of just 3.5 percent.
Who are the Democrats going to hate when we’re all out of rich people?
They’ll hate the same people they always do when they run out of other options.
Jews.
Not Jews. They are mostly Illiberals. They’ll go full-bore hate on Conservative Christians. They’ll have the support of a LOT of people. I’m surprised they haven’t done it already.
There’s always someone to hate. And to expand on Matthew–the Jews are such a tempting target, you can even get most Jews to hate them.
To heck with renouncing my citizenship, where do I go to renounce my president?
And don’t worry about the Democrats’ running out of “rich” people to hate. It’s a relative term. So if you were stuck with a socialist on the Arctic tundra and you were trying to rub two sticks together to make a fire, you can be sure that the Democrat would demand that you give him one.
A polling booth this Nov. Bring lots of friends.
Interesting post Mr. Vodka. While tax havens have always existed and tax rates on the wealthy are at historic (past 60 years) lows, this outflow of the “super rich” should send a strong message to the rest of us: don’t tax the unpatriotic job creators at the same rate as middle income earners, or they will leave. You made your money in America, courtesy of your fellow Americans (no, not just because you were so smart Mr. Galt), and now you want to leave to save a few bucks? We need Americans here, not selfish traitors. And don’t ask to come back, ever. See how you like socialist Norway or Singapore in 10, 20 or 50 years. Sorry Mr. Saverin et al, but goodbye and godspeed.
Jane, you ignorant (and oh so willing) slut.
Tax collections are at 60 lows, because Obama has left the economy in the shitter. The 1986 Tax Simplification Act Act had a top rate of 28%, which is how many points lower than today, hmm?
Peddle your shit elsewhere, prog. You’re no longer welcome here.
I do not condemn them one bit for leaving the looters who want to steal what they have earned. I have worked incredibly hard to get where I am, and I am damned tired of being told that it is “fair” to take ever-increasing percentages of MY income simply because I have worked so hard to earn it! The hypocrisy of leftist morons like you calling ME greedy for not wanting to let your ilk take larger and larger portions of my income to give to people who have done NOTHING to earn it is hysterically primal-scream-inducing!
Galt’s (Rand’s) philosophy vis a vis stopping work to support social parasites is brillance born of disgusted desperate longing for real justice. If you don’t like the fact that hard workers take steps to keep what they earn, then you and like-minded leftists can certainly give as much of your earned income to the government as you wish, if you think socialism is so great. What leftists are really pissed about is these wealthy folks are refusing to give up their incomes to the control of the government thieves.
Millions of taxpayers who’ve left Mass, CT, RI, CA, NY, and Michigan for Texas, Colorado, NC, Tennessee, NH, and Florida could not be reached for comment.
“You made your money in America, courtesy of your fellow Americans (no, not just because you were so smart Mr. Galt), and now you want…”
Yeah. Your achievements aren’t yours, Mr.* Salk. You’d've done nothing without that Pitt lab equipment (furnished by Mellon, btw) or March of Dimes grant. Not to mention all those needy potential polio victims.
*The title of “Doctor” is an artificial construct denoting hierarchy, denied to millions of equally worthy others.
Remember all those Lefties who were going to go to Canada if Bush won in 2004? And how none of them did?
They won’t run out of rich people to hate. If this turns into a major drain on capital, Washington will simply whip up indignation against “selfish traitors” and use it as an excuse to impose capital controls on all of us.
Oh, wait, then we’d all be poor. Never mind.
The problem is that Democrats hate themselves and project the hatred onto others. Since the hatred is irrational, any scapegoat will suffice.
Has anyone here read David Weber’s Honor Harrington Saga? It’s basically Horatio Hornblower in space (with Hard SF trappings).
The People’s Republic of Haven (bad guys! basically France) is essentially the end-game of statist/socialist policies (with an ossified political structure where the masses were on the dole). They stayed afloat by conquering neighboring planets to fill their empty treasury, until they entered a long cold war with the Star Kingdom of Manticore (good guys, and basically Great Britain). That’s where he series kicks in.
The entire series is great stuff. Heartily recommend it.
Aargh, my book queue is already full and you have to go tempting me with another.
Clinton lowering capital gains rates from 39% to 19% = brilliant.
Bush lowering them from 19% to 16% = fiscally reckless.