Report: Millionaires didn’t flee when tax rates increased in certain states

“When social ties are strong, fiscal and financial incentives have a smaller playing field and less influence on individual behavior,” the authors argue, adding that “embeddedness allows states to experiment with new fiscal policies without risking elite exodus or a deep loss of their tax base.”

This mirrors research conducted by the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) in 2018. That study found that wealthy Mainers are less likely to move out of state than the lowest income people and that the state’s rich are a “stable, reliable tax base.” MECEP also identified that New Hampshire — a state with no income tax — lost more residents to Maine than vice versa from 2000-2016, putting another dent in the notion of tax flight.

Click here to read the full story, first published August 12, 2022 in Beacon.