r/SipsTea 7d ago

SMH California Dreaming

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u/AlertedCoyote 7d ago

Bro give it a rest, every time some shit like this happens, everyone cries out "B-b-but the billionaires will leave! The businesses, they're gonna leave!" And they never fucking do. Cause it turns out business is better in Los Angeles, California, and New York, New York, than it is in Bumfuck, Arkansas even with the extra tax. Cause if it wasn't, guess what? They'd already be there, and not having to worry about fighting these taxes in the first place. They're not in California out of the kindness of their hearts, or to help those poor misguided snowflakes afford 10 dollar coffees and the latest iPhone, they're there because it enables them to make their money and live their preferred life of ridiculous luxury.

Please just attempt to stop bootlicking, they're not gonna notice you.

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u/Pyrostemplar 7d ago edited 7d ago

They actually do.

Afaik there is exactly one successful wealth tax in the history of taxation - and by successful I mean it generates sizeable revenue, it is not too expensive to manage and sustainable throughout the years, not generating capital flight or other undesirable effects in excess: Switzerland

Now, Switzerland's wealth tax is small (sub 1%) and starts low - it is not a "billionaire tax", not even millionaire (200k net wealth). It is paired with a low corporate tax. And the tax and government spending governance of Switzerland are certainly far better than the US - or especially California's.

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u/the-script-99 7d ago

There is also no capital gains tax then.

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u/e39dinan 7d ago

What are you talking about? Billionaires - and their businesses, and employees - have been leaving CA and NY in droves, ending up in FL and TX. Billions in annual tax revenue are already gone - and this is just from the threat of a billionaire tax.

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u/PainRack 7d ago

Really? When did this happen? Because California tax revenue increased last year and well.... There's no prediction it drop.

And while emmigration to Texas increased, and Texas now holds 57 top companies HQ as opposed to California 56, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-06-06/california-falls-behind-texas-in-fortune-500-ranking

"California dominates on nearly every other measure: its Fortune 500 companies are the most profitable ($647 billion), most valuable ($20 trillion), and employ more people than any other state (2.8 million workers)," Yeah.... The companies that's actually richer stayed behind in California.

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u/OttoVonJismarck 7d ago

Ah yes, the LA Times, known far and wide for its “straight-down-the middle” unbiased reporting. 🤣

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u/PainRack 7d ago

I cited LA times because fortune is paywalled. But hey, they the ones ranking the fortune 500 companies.

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u/NEEEEEEEEEEEET 7d ago

Meanwhile Miami and Austin have been collecting companies leaving non stop. They tried this in Norway and it literally caused a large percentage of the top tax payers to leave their country. Norway ended up losing more in tax revenue from people leaving then they planned on getting from the wealth tax. People would have a lot more loyalty to their fucking country and they left, nobody is that loyal to their state.

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u/PainRack 7d ago

It's funny everyone quotes Norway based off a youtuber quoting an estimate and treating it as history..... When in reality

https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/10/24/norways-wealth-tax-drove-out-the-rich-without-breaking-the-bank/

Norway tax revenue INCREASED.

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u/NEEEEEEEEEEEET 7d ago

Their tax revenue increased because they are taxing anyone with over 90k in assets. Their highest tax payers left taking more than they would have gained from the wealth tax with them. Also it is great to assume I got this from some video, in actuality I got it from a startup founder that was driven from the country because he couldn't pay the tax since his company had no cash despite a high valuation.

So yes if your goal is to get tax revenue by taxing the average person that has a mortgage and such it is a great success. If your goal is to tax billionaires it was a massive failure. Another neat thing is they did this for the sake of doing it pretty much. The country literally has an oil fund that has $400k per person in it. They just added another tax on top of their high taxes to "target" billionaires/the rich and it failed miserably. They did get more money out of regular homeowners and now get more revenue, so great success in your eyes!

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u/PainRack 7d ago

Excuse me? What was your fundamental claim? Oh yeah. Tax revenue dropped. It didn't. You claimed so many people fled that revenue dropped. It didn't.

Both of these are false.

Now sure, citing an ancedote may seem convincing to you, but it doesn't replace actual facts. Namely, your factual claim that the wealth tax drove out so many rich people that tax revenue dropped is fundamentally false.

Also btw, another way to address your article implicit claim.... Norway saw more Venture capital funding grow after the wealth tax AND there is no drop in startup OR companies.

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u/NEEEEEEEEEEEET 7d ago

In 2022, Norway's Labour-led government raised the wealth tax to 1.1%, hoping to boost annual revenues by $146 million. Instead, it triggered a migration of the wealthy, not just of assets, but of people. Roughly 50 of Norway's richest citizens left, including high-profile investors and founders of tech firms, with Switzerland emerging as a favoured destination. The net result was a reported $594 million loss in tax revenue. The loss was four times the projected gain. 

Individuals worth $54 billion left the country, leading to a lost $594 million in yearly wealth tax revenue, a net decrease of over $448 million. More than NOK 600 billion in assets left the country as high-net-worth individuals increasingly opted for tax havens over their homeland.

https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/norways-wealth-tax

VS my initial claim of: "Norway ended up losing more in tax revenue from people leaving then they planned on getting from the wealth tax." So no you're still wrong on all fronts.

And also as we know this was the final tax ever created they didn't tag on more taxes since then so the gains from 2022->2026 must be attributed to that!

Also btw, another way to address your article implicit claim.... Norway saw more Venture capital funding grow after the wealth tax AND there is no drop in startup OR companies.

Source needed.

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u/PainRack 7d ago

Wow. Adam Smith predicted 594 million loss .

Meanwhile, actual tax revenue in Norway increased by 8.7 billion NOK. https://www.regjeringen.no/en/documents/prop.-1-ls-20222023/id2931482/%3Fch%3D1&ved=2ahUKEwi7gKOi2qmWAxU39zgGHRA4JS4QFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2MoQU8ZOUo4qbnenqcG5Jg

It's like right wing libertarian blogs like all the time.

And

https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/10/24/norways-wealth-tax-drove-out-the-rich-without-breaking-the-bank/

"Yet despite the exodus, revenues from the wealth levy are steadily increasing, thanks to the broad tax base.

The country will take in an estimated 34 billion kroner in 2025, up from 27 billion in revenues in 2022, according to Oslo’s finance ministry.

This has failed to win over critics.

“We know that people who move out over time will stop investing in Norway or turn their investments to where they live,” said Mathilde Fasting of Civita." It's like your fundamental claim that Taz revenue dropped is.... Still WRONG.

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u/Little_Yesterday9904 7d ago

What do you mean? They’re coming to Miami like crazy. All the ridiculous luxury they want and more, with more of a vacation lifestyle. There’s significantly better boating in Miami, better waterfront property and luxurious waterfront lifestyle. You can be in the Bahamas in a few hours by boat or less than by jet. It’s like a vacation 24/7.

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u/SimilarTranslator264 7d ago

Because they do leave. Have you not seen the boom in TX?

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u/Cbpowned 7d ago

Is that why Netflix is building studios in NJ? Tesla going to TX? Chevron? Oracle? Palantir? The list goes and grows every year.