Wealthy Americans have the alternative of re-locating overseas

Ex-Pat movement may become the hottest trend for Americans in the Obama years

by Clifford F. Thies

With the revelation of Phase I of Obama’s plan to redistribute the wealth of America, the exodus of wealthy Americans begins. The first wave being those whose wealth and income are not geographically restricted. Some preferred spots: The Cayman Islands, Portugal, Andorra, Switzerland, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

From David S. Lesperance, Atlantic.com, Brave New Deal:

If someone is willing to break the "life inertia" of changing their current location, why would they consider only moving within the U.S.?

With globalization, connectivity and the increasing ability to reproduce one's "American lifestyle" in many parts of the world, it may seem less foreign to move to a different country then to some remote parts of the U.S. With proper tax advice, not only can you reduce or even eliminate your U.S. tax burden (including gift and estate tax), but also vastly reduce your "global tax burden" through pre-immigration tax planning.

Lifting the caps on Social Security “contributions”, ending deductions for charitable and homeowners’ interest expense, raising the top federal personal income tax rate and the corporate tax rate, ending the capital gains tax preference … get the idea? If you have a high income, they’re coming after you.

But, the idea that you can heavily tax the rich is bogus. As the author of the referenced article indicates, “If you look at the background of the top 1%, you realize that they meet my criteria of knowledgeable, worldly, disconnected to location for wealth, and willing and able to pay for proper legal advice.” In response to excessive taxes, these people will simply shift themselves and their wealth overseas. Instead of getting more out of them, the government will actually get less.

As for people with modest incomes, right away you will be tapped by the allowing of the Bush tax cuts to expire and by taxing mileage. And, guess what will have to happen when inflation and national debt piles up, and the rich folk are gone? I’ll just say this: When it comes to the tax collector, don’t ask for whom the bell tolls.

I suggest every productive American follow the advise of the great Czar of Czars himself, and learn a foreign language.

Note - Dr. Thies is a professor of Economics at Shenandoah University in Virginia. He's a former Visiting Fellow of the Heritage Foundation. He's also a former Libertarian National Committeeman, and longtime Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus. His writings on international politics can be seen regularly at Worldwide Liberty blogspot.

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