Economic education in America being in the sorry state that it is, few people understand the real dynamics of taxation. This leads inevitably to the belief that raising tax RATES will inevitably raise tax REVENUE. Politicians, ever hungry for more revenue (with which they purchase high-visibilty job security), scramble to raise rates, almost always saying they are only raising rates on “the rich.”
One of the many good things about being rich is that you have a lot of freedom of movement. If taxes are too high here, you can simply hop on your Gulfstream and go there.
That’s why new French president Nicolas Sarkozy is casting an eye toward Great Britain, in the hope of wooing back wealthy French expatriates who fled France’s taxation on wealth.
John Tamny has the story here.
Is there any chance the Democrats will learn anything from France’s experience as they gleefully await the coming end of the Bush Tax Cuts?
YOU TELL ME.
They raised taxes on my property (again) (in County where I retired from). School taxes gets the biggest share of my annual County tax bill. Its a Government bureaucracy. The appeal process seems dictatorial. Property owners can not just fly away. We have to try and sell the property to someone with more money. The County still Wins. The new owner (with more money) can afford higher taxes, plus the state gets the sales tax on the transaction. Its a Win – Win for the County and State.
Secondly, it seems the largest segment of the school population (that gets these tax funds) in my old County are Spanish speaking children, or children of recent Immigrants (Legality unknown). So in effect, it is property owners who are indirectly subsidizing all those Businesses who hire these (illegals).
I think regular US citizens who pay these taxes should file a class action Lawsuit against all Businesses who can be identified as hiring Illegal Aliens (oh! I am sorry – Illegal Immigrants)