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Escape From New York? High-Taxing Empire State Loses 3.4 Million Residents in 10 Years


New York State accounted for the biggest migration exodus of any state in the nation between 2000 and 2010, with 3.4 million residents leaving over that period, according to the Tax Foundation.

Over that decade the state gained 2.1 million, so net migration amounted to 1.3 million, representing a loss of $45.6 billion in income.

Where are they escaping to? The Tax Foundation found that more than 600,000 New York residents moved to Florida over the decade – opting perhaps for the Sunshine State’s more lenient tax system – taking nearly $20 billion in adjusted growth income with them.

Over that same time period, 208,794 Pennsylvanians moved to Florida, taking $8 billion in income.

“Many of these New York and Pennsylvania residents no doubt moved to Florida for the warm weather,” says the foundation, a nonpartisan research group. “[B]ut many more may have moved there because the state does not have an individual income tax, an estate tax, nor an inheritance tax.”

The Tax Foundation has created a “migration calculator” based on data from the Internal Revenue Service, tabulating the number of individuals moving between states each year, and income affected by the shifts.

The calculator shows that 612,520 people renounced their citizenship in New York State and moved to Florida in the 10-year period, taking with them $19.7 billion in adjusted growth income.

Between 2009 and 2010 alone, 40,195 New York residents moved to Florida, taking $1.3 billion in income.

According to the group, New York ranked second among the states for the highest state and local tax burden in 2009. The Empire State was ranked highest for tax burden every year from 1977 until 2006, except in 1984 when it was ranked second.

New York State has a progressive personal income tax rate ranging from 6.45 percent to 8.82 percent for those earning over $2 million. Sales varies by county, and is between seven and eight percent. In Manhattan, the sales tax is 8.875 percent.

According to the Retirement Living Center, which examines tax burdens by state for those nearing retirement, New York also levies a gasoline tax at 49.0 cents per gallon and a cigarette tax of $4.35 per pack, along with an additional $1.50 per pack in New York City.

New York is also one of 17 states plus the District of Columbia that collects an estate tax, with a $1 million exemption and a progressive rate from 0.8 percent to 16 percent.

n 2007, New York State collected $1.1 billion from its estate and gift taxes, the highest of any of the states, according to the Tax Foundation.

READ MORE: CNS NEWS



3 Responses

  1. Income equality is a goal of the Democrats. While Republicans have the idea of encouraging the poor to become affluent through opportunity and hard work, the Democrats have found a superior formula. Get rid of the rich, and we can all be equally poor – except for people like Cuomos, or Kennedys, or Obamas – who at least became wealthy while in public service unlike those mercenary capitalists like Romney or Cain or Rockefeller (and yes, most of them are good Republicans) who made their money in the private sector).

  2. I would be very curious to know, of the 3.4 million residents leaving NY state, what percentage of those were from New York CITY???

    My guess would be that it was a percentage HIGHER than the stam ratio of New York CITY residents to total New York STATE residents.

    This is due in no small measure to our beloved mayor, who has helped make this city UNliveable for the average working person

  3. These people “got” it. They want to keep their money instead of giving it to the govt so they are moving to states that allow them to do that. Of course democrats don’t understand this concept because they truthfully feel that EVERY penny you earn belongs to the almighty government.

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