O Wall Street Journal He revealed in a report published on Thursday (14) that several states governed by US Democrats are intensifying measures to increase the tax burden on the richest in an attempt to cover budget deficits and compensate for possible federal transfers cuts.
Proposals include raising tax rates on large fortunes, increasing capital gain taxes and new luxury real estate rates – such as the nickname “Taylor Swift rate”, a tax that should be applied to houses valued at over $ 1 million in areas of the state of Rhoode Island, a strongly “blue” state.
According to the report, democratic parliamentarians from states such as Washington, Rhode Island, Maryland, Minnesota and Connecticut, who control the state legislature, argue that the richest taxpayers should “compensate” the reduction of revenues caused by the new tax law sanctioned by President Donald Trump, which has expanded tax cuts for individuals and companies. Democrats also claim that changes in Washington threaten the financing of programs such as Medicaid, pressuring state budgets.
However, opponents claim that strategy can have the opposite effect: encouraging capital escape and the exodus of entrepreneurs and other millionaires to states with lower taxation, usually governed by republicans, reducing the revenue base. THE WSJ He cited studies showing that billionaires and high -income people are more likely to change their domicile in the face of inheritance taxes, large assets or high income tax rates – especially older or easily transferable active.
Recent surveys of think tank Heritage Foundation reveal that, between April 2020 and July 2023, about 2.8 million Americans left states with high tax burden in favor of lower taxes such as Florida, Texas and other southern states, which are more republican. Already an analysis by the Goldman Sachs Research bank indicates that between 2017 and 2023, approximately 4 % of families with income over $ 1 million changed state – mainly from places such as New York and California and going to Florida and Texas – and estimates that this migration reduced revenue in more tax states by up to 3 %.
