Today’s New York Post has an opinion piece by Jonathan Williams about the proposed tax hikes in New York State.  He opens the article by saying:

“There’s an old saying that high taxes don’t redistribute income, they redistribute people. Unfortunately for the hard-working taxpayers of New York, this wisdom seems to be lost on Gov. Paterson and a majority of legislators in Albany.”

The economic outlook for New York State is bleak–according to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) New York has the worst economic outlook of any state in the nation.  According to the article:

“The second edition of “Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer Economic Competitiveness Index” presents economic outlook rankings of the states, based on the relationship between policies and performance — revealing which states are best positioned to make a recovery. The study examines how economic competitiveness drives income, population and job growth in the states and looks at the public policies that have enabled prosperity in some areas, while ruining business climates and causing economic malaise in others. Considering the competition in the latter category (California, Michigan, New Jersey, etc.), it’s quite an accomplishment for New York to rank dead last.”

The states with the best economic outlooks are Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Virginia.  These states have lower spending and lower taxes which allow businesses to prosper without the weight of extra taxes and regulation.

The article also mentions that radio personality Rush Limbaugh has publicly stated that he will no longer be doing business in New York due to the new ‘millionaire’s tax’.  Mr. Limbaugh physically moved his radio operation out of New York a number of years ago.  He is still required to pay New York State taxes for the days that he is physically in New York.  He has been auditied by the state for the past twelve years.  How many of us would put up with that sort of aggravation from a state we don’t even live in? 

Again, laws (and taxes) have consequences.  Texas currently has the largest number of corporate headquarters of any state in the union.  Texas has no personal income tax.  That is not a coincidence.  When people are able to save considerable amounts of money by relocating their businesses, that’s what they do.  The tax and spend problem is not only a national issue–it’s also a state issue.