I wanted to share this article I read recently with you, written by Jon Bruner with Forbes.com.
Florida Dominates List
Surprise: America's wealthy like warm weather and low taxes. That's the takeaway from IRS data, analyzed by Forbes, on moves between counties.
Topping the list: Collier County, Fla., which includes Naples. Tax returns accounting for 15,150 people showed moves to Collier County from other parts of the country in 2008, the latest year for which IRS data is available. Their average reported income: $76,161 per person equivalent to $304,644 for a family of four. Although slightly more taxpayers moved out of Collier County than into it, the departing residents' average income was just $26,128 per person.
In second place is Greene County, Ga., with a population of just 15,743 at the Census Bureau's last estimate. The IRS data show that in 2008, 788 people moved to the county, about 75 miles east of Atlanta.
Rounding out the top five: Nassau County, Fla., near Jacksonville; Llano County, Texas, 70 miles northwest of Austin; and Walton County, Fla., 80 miles east of Pensacola.
Tax Benefits
The dominance of the list by Florida and Texas - the former has eight of the top 20 counties, the latter four - makes sense to Robert Shrum, manager of state affairs at the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., since neither state has an income tax. "If you're a high-income earner, then that, from a tax perspective, is going to be a driving decider if you're going to move to one of those two states," Shrum says.
After accounting for property taxes, Shrum's analysis shows that Texas has the fourth-lowest personal tax burden in the country, and Florida has the eighth lowest. Shrum also points to eight states that have targeted wealthy households with extra-high tax brackets: California, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut and Wisconsin. Six of the top 10 counties the rich are fleeing are located in those states.
Top 5 Places Where America's Money is Moving
No. 5: Walton County, Fla.
Arriving average income per capita: $45,591
Departing average income per capita: $28,360
Total arriving people: 3,939
Total departing people: 3,230
No. 4: Llano County, Texas
Arriving average income per capita: $44,324
Departing average income per capita: $22,541
Total arriving people: 1,192
Total departing people: 1,018
No. 3: Nassau County, Fla.
Arriving average income per capita: $51,833
Departing average income per capita: $29,312
Total arriving people: 4,785
Total departing people: 3,690
No. 2: Greene County, Ga.
Arriving average income per capita: $56,414
Departing average income per capita: $25,432
Total arriving people: 788
Total departing people: 778
No. 1: Collier County, Fla.
Arriving average income per capita: $76,161
Departing average income per capita: $26,128
Total arriving people: 15,150
Total departing people: 16,802
Click here to see the full list of Where America's Money Is Moving.
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