Wealth tax bad – capital flight causes increased taxes
IBD ’19 [Investor’s Business Daily was founded in 1984 as a daily print publication and shifted to a digital-first approach in 2016 to provide our subscribers with the most up-to-the-minute data possible. In May of 2021, IBD began an exciting new chapter in its history when it officially joined the News Corp and Dow Jones family of companies. Alongside the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch, IBD now stands as an integral part of the go-to brand for investors seeking trusted news, insights and analysis. Investor’s Business Daily is the premier resource for investors who want to boost trading performance with industry-leading research and market insights. But more than that, IBD values continuous learning––because the market’s full of surprises, and there’s always something more we can learn, even as seasoned traders. Beyond that, we at IBD believe investing isn’t just about money––it’s the freedom you have when you’re financially secure. Driven by a passion for investing, we’ve made it our mission to help investors achieve financial freedom by giving them an edge in the market. 02/01/19, ‘Wealth Tax Fails The Test Around The World’, https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/wealth-tax-failure/, Investor’s Business Daily]
Worse, wealth taxes can have very bad effects. . There, "A wealth tax imposed on assets over 1.3 million euros led to an exodus of taxpayers from the country. In 2016 alone, 12,000 millionaires left France, the highest outflow in the world." The year before, 10,000 millionaires left.
And it's been going on for years. As Simon Black of the Sovereign Man website noted, "In France, 513 wealthy households left the country every year for 35 years — taking an estimated $175 billion of assets with them." This, Black adds, has cost France some 400,000 jobs.
Even Sweden Ended Wealth Tax
This explains in part why France's Gilets-Jaunes are demonstrating. Their taxes go up as the wealthy leave. But that's always the case when socialists tax "the rich": When the rich leave, the middle- and lower-classes, who can't afford to move, pay more of the tax burden.
As , its tax brought in about $600 million a year, but ultimately cost the country some $200 billion in capital flight. Not worth it.