The northeast’s pain is Florida’s gain
Bottom Line: It’s no secret that we continue to gain northern defectors from high tax states quite literally daily. In fact, we’re averaging adding 300,000 new additions per year. What is remarkable is the growing velocity with which it’s now happening. Steven Moore from the Heritage Foundation has called Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, the four states of apocalypse.This because high income earners fed up with high taxes have been fleeing in droves leaving the states in increasingly desperate financial situations.
It’s always been true that attempting to extort the highest income earners will fail – because they’re the ones with the financial flexibility to leave. With upper income earners paying the lion’s share of taxes at the local, state and federal level – once they leave – you're left with higher taxes and a greater burden on those who can least afford them. A quick look at the four states of apocalypse shows a remarkable downturn in tax revenue due to the fleeing of upper income earners for states like ours.
Federal tax revenue climbed 6% last year. In Florida that figure was about 3.5% higher but two of the states Steven cited, and that many current South Floridians are from, are reeling. New York has experienced a near 6% decline in income tax revenue over the past year while its now a whooping 35% in New Jersey. In other words, a bad situation for those states, and the taxpayers left in them, is only about to get worse. That will likely only increase the trend of those able to flee the states to do so. With Florida being the top destination for transplants, that means population growth is only likely to increase from here.
Once again, to our latest transplants, I say welcome but please remember why you left in the first place and remember to vote accordingly in Florida.