Seems we can barely turn on the TV or pick up a paper these days without hearing of the terrible burden of being super wealthy in America. The Washington Times pops up right on cue with an editorial titled In Defense of Tax Havens:
What President Obama sees as problems, we see as benefits. High-tax countries face a problem - it is called competition. Wealthy and high-income people do not like giving the vast majority of their money to government, so they sometimes pick where they live based on tax rates. For this reason, competition keeps sensible countries from raising taxes too high because that can cause people and their resources to go elsewhere. We see the same tax competition within our own shores. It is not surprising that someone such as Rush Limbaugh broadcasts from Florida, where there is no income tax, instead of New York, where his national career started but where taxes are high ...
Agreed: If you don’t like paying taxes here on the millions you’ve made or that someone made for you, you’re free to take your shekels and move. As the article correctly notes there are plenty of nearby tropical paradises that would love to have you your lovely money. Or live the flat-tax dream in eastern Europe, or check out the sweeping panoramic vistas of Switzerland where you can negotiate your own custom tax rate. For the more rugged, adventurous zillionaire, there’s no shortage of corrupt third-world shitholes where you can buy a bargain fiefdom and spend the rest of your days taxing peasants at gunpoint. So take your pick, white sand beach mansion, winter playground for the rich, or warlord sidekick. Call a travel agent, check with the Roaming Gnome, renounce US citizenship if that’s your thing, and book your one way trip.
Because the last thing we pedestrian working stiffs need right about now is to hear another pampered trust fund brat or millionaire CEO -- or even a paid shill for a self proclaimed Billionaire Messiah -- whining on like a spoiled tweener about how fucked up America is for the rich. You can live where you want, you can visit back home whenever you like, and if you decide you don’t like it over there you can move back or try another country. So what’s stopping you? Go already and take Rush with you.
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