Cristobal Young

The Myth of Millionaire Tax Flight

How Place Still Matters for the Rich

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Cristobal Young is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. He studies how sociological dynamics shape the effects of public policies¿especially policies meant to reduce inequality. His research has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today , and he has contributed pieces to The New York Times Sunday Review and the New York Daily News, among others.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: STANFORD UNIV PR
• Seitenzahl: 160
• Erscheinungstermin: 31. Oktober 2017
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 218mm x 145mm x 18mm
• Gewicht: 318g
• ISBN-13: 9781503601147
• ISBN-10: 1503601145
• Artikelnr.: 47777216

Autorenporträt

Cristobal Young is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. He studies how sociological dynamics shape the effects of public policies-especially policies meant to reduce inequality. His research has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today , and he has contributed pieces to The New York Times Sunday Review and the New York Daily News, among others.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
1Millionaire Taxes in a World with Few Borders
chapter abstract
This chapter introduces the central questions of the book. In the age of
globalization, what is the connection between the rich and the places where
they live? Is place a temporary convenience for the rich and
powerful-readily switched out when the tides change? Or is place a deep
foundation for their success? Are top income earners mobile millionaires
searching for low-tax places to live, or are they embedded elites reluctant
to move away from the places where they have become highly successful? This
chapter also introduces the main empirical data for the book-big
administrative data from the tax returns of U.S. millionaire income earners
over more than a decade. Finally, the structure and organization of the
book is summarized.
2Do the Rich Flee High Taxes?
chapter abstract
This chapter explores the empirical evidence for the mobile millionaires
versus embedded elites debate. Drawing on the tax returns of U.S.
millionaires, this chapter focuses on these questions: To what extent do
top income earners migrate away from places with high income taxes? Are
millionaires especially concentrated in low-tax states? Do they tend to
move from high-tax to low-tax states? What about along the narrow
geographic borders of states? In border county regions, do the rich tend to
cluster on the low-tax side of the border? This chapter also moves higher
up the food chain to look at the location and migration of the Forbes 400
list of richest Americans. Finally, the chapter examines the social
demography of the rich: considering how their family and business
responsibilities, as well as their age and education levels, can help
explain their overall migration patterns.
3Global Billionaires and International Tax Havens
chapter abstract
This chapter looks at the global migration of the world's elites, as well
as the use of tax havens that allow the rich to move their money abroad.
First, the world's billionaires offer an international look at the mobile
millionaire thesis. How often do billionaires move to low-tax countries?
Are billionaires a transnational capitalist class? Or do they just live in
the country where they were born? The analyses here give a clear view into
the geographic mobility of the richest people in the world. The second half
of the chapter continues the global focus by examining international tax
havens. Rather than moving themselves, can the rich achieve tax savings by
moving their money into offshore shell companies? The chapter examines how
the offshore economy works and what shell companies and tax havens can and
cannot do. It also explores which countries are more likely to use offshore
accounts.
4Place as a Form of Capital
chapter abstract
This chapter explores why place is still important for the rich. The income
of the rich depends in part on where they live. Peak performance does not
necessarily travel with the individual when the person moves away. Top
incomes are sustained not simply through individual brilliance and hard
work, but also through collaborative relationships and social networks that
depend on being in a shared place. People at the top are deeply embedded
insiders who earn economic rewards because their social networks place them
close to the action. Top income earners have accumulated much home-field
advantage that would be diluted by moving away. It is important to
disentangle the idea of travel, which often signifies wealth and status,
from the idea of migration, which is often less glamorous-reflecting
hardship or entry-level status. The chapter concludes with case studies of
open borders in Europe and the United States.
5Millionaires and the Future of Taxation
chapter abstract
This chapter revisits the central findings of the book and develops the
conceptual and policy implications. How should states set their tax
policies? What are the benefits and costs for states that have high income
taxes on the rich? The chapter emphasizes that states have little ability
to attract the highest income earners, but they can attract a pipeline of
future high income earners. These are young professionals-those not yet
established in their careers; they are the most mobile individuals, they
still have relatively low incomes, and they will not be paying top-bracket
tax rates for many years. Progressive taxes are paid by people with
late-career success. The revenues pay for education, infrastructure, and
services that are most attractive to young, early-career individuals. In
this sense, millionaire taxes are an intergenerational transfer.