As Milton Friedman famously observed, the only thing more mobile than the wealthy is their money. Between 2000 and 2017, net migration between states was roughly 13.6 million people, and has been accelerating. Over 80 percent of the net migration between states, some 12 million people, moved out of high-tax states and into low-tax states. As a result, the zero-tax states collectively saw their population grow by 32 percent, while the 10 highest-tax states saw only 10 percent population growth.The authors note recent changes in Federal income tax law making state and local taxes no longer deductions from Federally taxable income. These make the gradient between low-or-no income tax states and high tax states like NY and CA much steeper, the incentives to move and penalties for staying greater.
In an online world, where you physically live becomes less and less critical as telecommuting becomes more widespread. For example, I seamlessly write this blog from three different residence locations each year. It is less easy to keep it going while traveling or cruising, but I manage.
