Roper: Why pick Vermont?

By Rob Roper

The Wall Street Journal ran a story about New York’s $2 billion plus budget shortfall. New York’s Governor Cuomo blamed the predicament on, “wealthy individuals living in these areas were either moving or shifting their official residence to lower-tax states, causing the shortfall.” This actually presents an opportunity for Vermont, but it would require our legislators to reshape our state as an attractive tax landscape for these individuals rather than an out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire option.

Vermont, with our natural beauty and stellar quality of life should be an attractive landing spot for mobile, high income retirees. It isn’t to the extent it could be because of the following:

  • 37 states do not tax social security benefits. Vermont does. (Source)
  • 33 states have no estate or inheritance tax. Vermont does. (Source)
  • 9 states have no income tax (like our neighbor to the east). Vermont does. (Source)
  • 44 states have a lower marginal maximum income tax rate than VT (Source)
  • Only 8 states have higher property tax rates than VT (Source)

So, if you’re looking for a place to move and live on a fixed income, while at the stage of planning to pass your assets on to your children, what incentive does Vermont offer? If we don’t change our tax policies we will not only find that we can’t attract high asset retirees, but we will neither be able to retain our own. And, like New York, we will find ourselves wondering where our revenue has gone.

Rob Roper is president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/chensiyuan

11 thoughts on “Roper: Why pick Vermont?

  1. Baby boomers are leaving the NorthEast in droves because of ridiculous taxes. Retired baby boomers are a cash cow. All they ask is a safe place to live and good health care. They don’t have children that need to be educated and most of them have good pensions and good savings. They do not want to give their pensions, social security and their net worth to state or federal governments. They are leaving to places that respect their right to retain the wealth that they worked hard for. As long as there are states and countries that attract this huge population on wealthy people, boomers will become citizens or residents of more attractive places to live. Living in Florida during June through November is hot. Think about baby boomers spending these months in Vermont and the rest of the year in other places.
    Snow birds in reverse. But, Vermont would have to reverse it’s philosophy on taxation.

  2. Consider federal tax cuts and U.S. tax revenue.

    February 13, 2019 | 4:31 PM EST President Trump signs the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Dec.22, 2017. (Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla) (CNSNews.com) – The federal government collected a record $1,665,484,000,000 in individual income taxes in calendar year 2018,……

    The Laffer Curve is exemplary. When will Vermont legislators figure out that 5% of something is more than 10% of nothing?

  3. I think in the long run there is more tax revenue availablefor the state of Vermont in lowering taxes for high net worth individuals and keeping them here paying lower taxes than there is in increasing taxes for those who stay.

  4. ” High asset retirees” won’t have any assets left after moving to this blood sucking state. This ‘not so high asset retiree’ am finding it hard to keep up with the ever increasing expenses that go to support slugs who the left feel, should live just like me even though they don’t work. That’s called ‘redistribution of wealth’. Socialism. You work and pay half or more to support those who won’t. Just about time to go.

  5. Why Pick Vermont, now that’s a question ??

    Vermont used to be a very friendly state, those days are gone taxes & debt for the foolishness
    that comes out of Montpelier have forced and will continue to force it residence to move to a
    retiree-friendly states or states with major business ( career ) opportunity !!

    Vermont elected officials mostly from NY, MA, CT have moved here have tried to turn our Beautiful State into the quagmires they left behind, tax burden states, crime, drugs……….. shameful !!

    If Vermont officials think Micro Breweries, Pot Sales are going to save the state, boy are they
    wrong.

    Why pick Vermont, the question should be why stay in Vermont ??

  6. And today I head of a billionaire who changed his residency from NJ to FLA taking with him $140 million in tax revenue that NJ no longer gets. One man, left a big hole to fill by those who are left. Who is John Galt?

      • So John didn’t hit the “r” key, why is that a being “dumb”? I’ve seen many errors by professional writers that didn’t hit all the proper keys and also doubled worded (the the).
        Lighten up. I understood what was the intent.

        Hear are some mis-spellings by many different commenters, are easily understood:
        DEMONICRAPS democommunists demokooks socialist/progressive/democratic Spendocrats demawitches DemocRATs Dem/Prog/Lib libtards, DemocRODENTS,

        I think you know what the subject is.

  7. Cuomo as much admitted that people are leaving because New York is too financially oppressive. There are so many better states in this nation to live in.

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