Microblog Memes

Massachusetts implemented a 4% millionaire tax in 2022 and a small capital gains tax. The results?

• extra $3b in tax revenue, extra $1.3b with the capital gains changed.
• passed a $2.5 billion infrastructure & education bill
• millionaires in Massachusetts actually grew because of the economic expansion
• collective wealth of the people in the state went up by 40% two years after it passed

It's proven that it works. We just need policies that benefit people and not just the rich.

Some of the sources:

https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/04/29/millionaires-massachusetts-income-surtax-increase

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/politics/data-shows-mass-is-home-to-more-millionaires-despite-new-surtax-according-to-advocates/3698430/

Worth remembering: the “they’ll leave” line gets used for any reform—so it’s healthier to ask for data and design policy around outcomes, not threats.

Why would they leave? This system has made them billionaires. Even if it costs them a little bit more, this system STILL generates billions in revenue. They won't find a friendlier attitude anywhere else on the planet. If they could, they'd be there.

Good riddance. The perfect analogy is removing a brain cancer.

Too long.

1. They usually don't
2. Put a punitive tax above the local equivalent of too much
3. What billionaires?

Aka the great compression method. Worked great at the time, would work again. Does not even require great changes like forms of socialism do.

I think it's a terrible idea to put a tax on leaving the country, however I think forcing people who leave to revoke their own citizenship permanently would work even better

They will buy the media, undermine your democracy and institute fascism if you tax them.

They will also do that if you don't tax them.

Heard this weird comment on the radio the other day: "We can't tax the rich because they are the best milk-cows in our stable." Mate if you can't get milk from a cow it's hardly the best one in your stable.

My country (Norway) saw a lot of rich people moving to Switzerland because of more advantageous tax rules, so we actually did implement an “exit tax”!

To the surprise of no one, the rich people will not stop whining about it.

“Billionaires will leave if you tax them.”

They aren’t paying enough to begin with as an overall percentage of the state’s tax, so what’s the difference if they leave?

Wouldn't it be nice if ALL billionaires left and concentrated in a single location.

Then we could all play some Mario & Luigi.

If you tax them enough they won’t be billionaires anymore, so billionaires really wouldn’t leave.

They don't pay their share and they don't keep their money where they live anyway, so leave and hopefully die on the way to Dubai or whatever tax haven you decide to go, billionaire piece of shit

What is the downside?

Option 1) Billionaires and no tax revenue from billionaires.

Option 2) Lower housing prices because no billionaires and no tax revenues from billionaires.

Putting a tax on billionaires leaving is actually a brilliant idea...

• Consistent: they made that wealth, in your country, so by the same principles of income tax, VAT, or corporation tax, we know the government believes it deserves a cut. All that money they take wth them is money the government was intending to dip into slowly over the course of 10 years or so.
• Targets a Loophole: Billionaires are of course uniquely positioned to relocate on a whim - normal people and even many millionaires will not be able to do this, as they can't change jobs on the fly, get someone else to sell their house for them, remotely buy a house in another country.
• Motivates them to be better: the taxation of billionaires is ultimately about increasing the complexity of the system until they're left with no choice but to be useful. But first we have to weather the storm of them trying to bribe the government not to tax them, before we can get there.

They'll leave, but still own their property.