"IF YOU TAX THE RICH. THEY'LL JUST LEAVE"

Surprise, surprise it turns out that's just a MYTH.
Data from massive IRS studies tracking every U.S. millionaire (45 million tax records over 13 years) shows they migrate less than average folks. Annual millionaire migration rate? Just 2.4%. Tax-driven moves are around 0.3% net. They're "embedded elites," tied by family, kids in school, businesses, networks, and the places where they built their wealth. Moving isn't as frictionless as the talking point claims.
Real-world examples:
New Jersey's millionaire tax (2004, +2.4% on top earners): Raised ~$1B/year with minimal flight. Millionaire population grew. A skeptical replication confirmed the effect was small or very small
New York & California: Repeated top-rate hikes. No exodus. Post-2017 federal tax changes (capping SALT deductions), economists predicted 800,000 fleeing high-tax states. Didn't happen. NY's top 1% out-migration is often lower than other groups. Florida gets movers, but not disproportionately for tax reasons and many high-tax destinations like CT/NJ still attract them.
Massachusetts & Washington: Recent hikes on high earners. No mass departure; revenue up, millionaire base stable
Norway: Small wealth tax bump. Media screamed "rich fleeing!" but only 30 people out of 236,000 millionaires/billionaires (0.01%). Revenue gain dwarfed any loss. Academics say it'd need 15x more migration to matter.
France's 75% supertax had high-profile cases (Depardieu etc.), but overall emigration of top 1% was just 0.2% yearly, half the general population rate. Many "exits" were temporary or avoidance games, not permanent GDP killers.
Studies suggest the rich respond only if rates over 60-70%+. Family ties, quality of life, economic hubs, and social networks outweigh tax differences for most.
This fearmongering protects the status quo while ignoring that progressive taxes funded booms, reduced inequality, and built the infrastructure billionaires rely on. The ultra-wealthy aren't packing up en masse they're invested where they are. Time to stop letting a loud minority veto fair policy with an empty threat.
Tax the rich responsibly.