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【 以下文字转载自 triangle 讨论区 】
【 原文由 Commissar. 于 Wed May 27 15:24:43 2009 发表 】
本文由 mitbbs.com 的 deliver 转发
发信人: Commissar (Comrade Commissar), 信区: USANews
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon May 25 23:43:09 2009)
Millionaires Go Missing
Maryland's fleeced taxpayers fight back.
WSJ
Here's a two-minute drill in soak-the-rich economics:
Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close
the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a
millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%.
And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes,
the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley,
a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "
willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the
rich would "grin and bear it."
One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have
disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar
income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,
000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline
." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing.
Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians
predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last
year -- even at higher rates.
No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the
recession. However, this is one reason that depending on the rich to finance
government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of
cash during good times that vanish during recessions. For evidence, consult
California, New York and New Jersey (see here).
The Maryland state revenue office says it's "way too early" to tell how many
millionaires moved out of the state when the tax rates rose. But no one
disputes that some rich filers did leave. It's easier than the
redistributionists think. Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland
Public Policy Institute, notes: "Marylanders with high incomes typically own
second homes in tax friendlier states like Florida, Delaware, South
Carolina and Virginia. So it's easy for them to change their residency."
All of this means that the burden of paying for bloated government in
Annapolis will fall on the middle class. Thanks to the futility of soaking
the rich, these working families will now pay Mr. O'Malley's "fair share."
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※ 修改:．bridged 于 May 27 15:26:03 修改本文．[FROM: 130.203.0.0]
※ 修改:．bridged 于 May 27 15:26:32 修改本文．[FROM: 130.203.0.0]
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发表于 5-27-2009 11:25:54
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