How to crash the economy in your state

The following is quoted from Michael Gray’s CPA Tax & Business Insight Newsletter for September 2008:

Paul McCauley, who I am embarrassed to say is a CPA, and union leader Brad Rooker are promoting an initiative to impose a one-time 25% “wealth tax” (read success tax) on the assets of Californians exceeding $20 million for single persons and $40 million for married couples. The wealthiest 1 percent of California taxpayers paid 47.9% of the state’s personal income taxes for 2006, but that doesn’t satisfy McCauley and Rooker.

Of course, there is nothing to prevent these individuals from moving out of California to a more friendly state, and bringing their corporate headquarters with them. Say Steve Jobs (Apple Computer, Pixar), John Chambers (Cisco Systems), Larry Ellison (Oracle), George Lucas (Lucasfilm) and Larry Page and Sergy Brin (Google).

In addition, the wealthy don’t keep their assets as cash in a mattress. In order to pay the tax, any of them who decide to stay will have to liquidate their stock, bonds, and real estate. What do you think dumping these assets will do to the market? What do you think it will do to CalPERS, the state’s retirement system and one of its biggest investors?

These are also the people who fund our universities and charities, and bail out the state of California by purchasing municipal bonds to fund deficits.

If the state gets this money, do you really believe it will solve its money woes, or do you agree with me that it will be dissipated in nothing flat?

We should tar and feather McCauley and Rooker and they should be fired as unfit for their occupations.

More importantly, we need to speak out and not passively let their proposal be promoted as a “reasonable alternative.” This is not “just politics.” This relates to freedom, property rights and understanding that the real source of wealth is men’s minds. (See Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.)

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