On Thursday evening, President Trump confirmed on Twitter that he and his family are now officially residents of the State of Florida, and they’re taking their taxable income with them. “I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state,” Trump tweeted. “Few have been treated worse. I hated having to make this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned. As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart!”
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence. I cherish New York, and the people of…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2019
The New York Times originally broke the story.
Florida has no state income tax. This means that in changing his residency, Trump will not have to pay New York City’s top tax rate of 4 percent on top of the state’s top tax rate of 9 percent. New York also has an estate tax of 16 percent for estates greater than $10.1 million.
President Trump is hardly the first person to leave the high-tax state of New York for Florida and other lower-tax states. Back in February, New York Governor Cuomo acknowledged the exodus of rich New York residents, and complained about the significant loss of revenue for the state because of it. “Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. The rich leave. And now what do you do?” he said.
Umm, lower taxes, perhaps?
Despite Cuomo’s somber tone about the way his state’s high taxes were causing New York residents to leave in droves, he had a different attitude about Trump’s announced departure. “Good riddance,” Cuomo said in a statement. “It’s not like Mr. Trump paid taxes here anyway. He’s all yours, Florida.”
Cuomo’s claim that Trump didn’t pay taxes in New York is obviously wrong. As a New York resident, he had to pay state income taxes. But, the contrast between Cuomo’s attitude about Trump leaving New York and his concerns over the revenue shortfall New York is now experiencing because of high-income residents leaving tells you how little Cuomo cares about the fiscal future of his state.
Since entering politics, Trump’s popularity in New York City has been underwater, but his vision helped transform New York City in a positive way. How much more revenue do states with oppressive taxes have to lose before they realize what they’re doing?
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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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