Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.”
― Exodus 3:7, ESV
Written by Bryan Lutz, Editor at Dollarcollapse.com:
When you tax the rich, they leave.
That’s why even the rich agree “property is theft.”
Even though it may be theft, by embracing private property as an individual right, and then protecting that right, you’ve seen how the standard of living raises for all.
On the other hand, when private property isn’t respected, when it’s re-distributed, everyone becomes poorer.
For example, here’s how:
When governments increase taxes on the rich by a high enough margin, the rich leave town because they can’t earn an income from their assets.
Then workers either starve…
Or, if they can, they leave to find work.
Just like the rich.
Except the rich investment a much larger scale.
Whether that be a labor, time, or capital the rich are either a receiving profit, or losing at a much larger scale.
Case in point, billionaires are fleeing Norway.
More rich left Norway in 2022 than in the previous 13 years.
The AIER’s Daily Economy reports:
How Billionaires Became an Endangered Species in Norway
“A reasonable person might expect that this exodus of wealth would have prompted Norwegian lawmakers to reconsider their confiscatory tax policy, but that’s not what happened.
Instead, Norwegian lawmakers decided to double down on efforts to soak the rich, passing a new law that taxed unrealized capital gains for individuals leaving the country.
This so-called “exit tax” is triggered when a resident relocates from Norway.
The rate is 37.84 percent and is calculated based on the unrealized gains in shares and securities…
…“It doesn’t matter if you’re running a loss-making startup with no cash flow, if your investments have tanked after the valuation date, or even if your company has gone bankrupt — you still owe the tax,” he wrote.
“With dividend and capital gains taxes at around 38 percent, you need to withdraw approximately 1.6 million NOK to pay a 1 million NOK wealth tax bill.
You’re essentially paying taxes to pay taxes, draining capital from your business without any personal financial gain.”
The rich simply have less capital to create jobs, distribute wealth, and improve the world with the things they create.
Instead, governments that increase taxes, specifically a wealth tax experience a mass exodus of those who hold wealth in their country.
They move their stocks and bonds elsewhere.
In Norway’s case, billionaires left for Switzerland.
Thanks to Norway’s high amount of natural resources, the country can grab royalty earnings from oil and natural gas sales earning them revenue where there otherwise wouldn’t be.
But if the rich don’t want to invest, the number of jobs and thus, the number of people in the country will continue to decrease.
Here’s Rick Rule’s argument against higher taxes, and eating the rich:
