The Illinois Policy Institute has a fascinating article about people leaving Illinois.
It’s based data fro IRS.
Here’s the headline:
Newly released data from the IRS reveal that in 2012, Illinois lost more taxpayers and taxpayer wealth to a greater number of states than ever before.
Three facts are cited, along with explanatory material:
In 2012, Illinois achieved all-time worst records for: Net loss of taxpayers plus dependents (66,922), and net loss of income ($3.8 billion).
Better off people are moving out.
The taxpayer flight from Illinois accelerated in 2011 and 2012, especially in terms of income lost. Those who left Illinois in 2012 made a lot more money, on average, than those who moved into the state.
Illinois lost head-to-head migration battles with 46 out of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, in tax year 2012, the worst-ever count of such losses for the state.
The Democrats hiked income taxes in 2011.
= = = = =
This note might be of interest:
IRS migration data should not be confused with U.S. Census Bureau migration data. The IRS data are an important input for the Census Bureau’s data, but the census data usually show larger changes in the number of people moving. This is because IRS data capture only taxpayers and their dependents, while the Census Bureau also estimates the movement of people who do not file taxes, such as new college graduates.
Two points.
1) Once taxpayers leave a state they’re usually gone for good. So even if you you fix the tax rates, those that left are never coming back.
2) The first year of the tax hike was 2011. For middle to upper income taxpayers, which is what was lost, its not so easy to pick up and move to another state (think: houses to sell, kids in schools, existing job(s), etc.). It takes time to make that decision and transition. Given that lead time, I’d expect that the IRS data for 2013 vs 2012 might show even worse net losses.
Very intetesting.
I thought people would not move because of the increase.
I guess I was wrong, if these numbers can br trusted.
One point…Occam is right..
This is old news….
2013 and 2014 and first half of 2015…
they are still leaving and I think the pace of exodus has increased….
this system has been broken since 1970…
Whether you realize it or not,
you and your families have become political prisoners of the state of Illinois and the Democrat party.
Smart people have already come to this inescapable conclusion and have left or are preparing to do so.
They realize that it is futile to remain here hoping for deliverance from the tyranny of the Democrats and the useful idiots who vote for them.
This is a reason the Laffer Curve principle is important.
At some point increased taxes result in decreased tax revenues, because people can move.
This is a reason it’s irresponsible to pass unfunded mandates such as legislative pension and retiree healthcare benefit hikes to underfunded pensions, allowing current salary and benefit hikes to continue, and then say the constitution mandates payment, and once passed into law a benefit is forever, only future worker benefits can be changed.
That is insane policy.
Illinois legislators as a whole and governors were politically insane from 1971 – current, with one notable exception being Rauner who was not tied to the political machine.
It was a culture of greed and now they plead ignorance as if it takes a genius to figure out you should spend within your means and that includes planning for future payments such as pensions and retiree healthcare.
Illinois Policy has another story about taxpayers leaving Illinois.
Illinois is Losing Taxpayers From Every Income Bracket and Age Group
by Michael Lucci
August 26, 2015
http://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-is-losing-taxpayers-from-every-income-bracket-and-age-group
The above McHenry County Blog article was about the following IPI story.
IRS Data Reveal 2012 Was Illinois’ Worst Year of Taxpayer and Wealth Migration Yet
August 25, 2015
http://www.illinoispolicy.org/irs-data-reveal-2012-was-illinois-worst-year-of-taxpayer-and-wealth-migration-yet
I left sold my home.
Moved to Florida no state income tax property taxes 30% of Illinois cost of housing 70%.
I am retired and could not afford to stay in Illinois forced out.