What once seemed farfetched might happen.
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Not A Captive Audience
A concept that never seems to be honestly discussed is the mobility of wealth.
The affluent are almost always extremely well traveled. Thus, the concept of moving and living in another country is likely to have been something they have flirted with or have done. With the another Presidential election on the horizon, there is a dirty little secret that is never discussed. Will American wealth leave if the Federal Government moves dramatically closer to socialism?
United States citizens face worldwide income tax, so just moving offshore would not be enough but renouncing citizenship and becoming an expatriate while a dramatic move could be on the table for many. We already have domestic examples of population exits from heavily tax locations like New York and California to the lower taxed States of Florida and Texas. On the global scale, wealth has been leaving jurisdictions like Hong Kong because of political uncertainty for decades. None other that the Rolling Stones left the United Kingdom for tax reasons many years ago.
In 1988, the Rolling Stones explained why they left England to Washington Post writer, Richard Harrington, for his article entitled “Stone Free.” “In 1971, we were forced to decide courtesy of the British government – live in England and (because of high taxes) not be able to afford another set of guitar strings or move and keep the band together. Hence, the album “Exile on Main Street”.
It may be surprising to discover that taxes date back more than 5,000 years. As early as 3,000 B.C., ancient Egypt taxed its citizens. Within their system, the Pharaoh empowered scribes, who were enormously powerful tax collectors. It was not uncommon to find scenes depicting the scribe’s often ruthless actions in Egyptian drawings.
Virtually, every society that has ever existed established a tax system. It is also unfortunate that – throughout the course of history – cruelty and terror have frequently been linked to the collection of these same taxes. Thus, the desire by individuals throughout the ages to avoid tyrannical behavior forged a predictable and common mindset. To protect their wealth and freedom, people have historically gone to great lengths to seek refuge in havens.
If you consider that many of current proposals on the table are not only to dramatically raise tax on income but also to go after existing wealth, it seems a little unrealistic to expect those targeted to just sit back and take it. When the rich are driven out by the overreach of the taxman, it leaves a smaller tax base and someone will need to make up the difference. The outcome is always the same. Rising tax rates and an increase in currency controls by one government invariably result in another country opening its doors wider to foreign investment.
Here are a few interesting links on the subject of expatriation:
If this seems farfetched, it was just a few short years ago that the “Green New Deal” was laughed at by many. We live in interesting times. Please note we do not provide tax advice nor are we endorsing any specific service. The links above are provided for information purposes only.