You may have seen posts starting with, "New York is about to make a massive mistake" and it has to do with the NY State proposal to remove the QSBS tax exemption, meaning that angel investors, fund investors, and founders would be subject to state/city capital gains tax, something that is federally exempted for the first $10 million of gains and that our local tax system follows in lockstep.
Everyone has a right to speak up about their own self-interest and I totally understand why someone might say, "I work really hard and created jobs by starting a company, I don't want to pay more in taxes."
I wouldn't mind paying less in tax, obviously--but I know that I'm not anywhere close to making the kinds of sacrifices most people have to make more and more everyday. Plus, I honestly don't think I work harder than any of the people that deliver things to me, pick up garbage, or teach in a public school.
I don't want to live in Florida, Texas or Wyoming... or New Jersey for that matter. These aren't bad places... they're just not places that would make me happy. Some tech folks will undoubtedly move across the Hudson if this passes, but I don't see them moving offices there, too.
Their old NYC apartments won't stay empty for long, IMO.
This weekend, I ate bagels, pizza, played ice hockey outdoors, did a duathlon, took my 4 year old for a haircut, visited my cousin and her 9 year old boy that my daughter adores--they played baseball in a park, saw a kids concert at a playground near her school and I didn't need to get in a car for any of it. I bumped into at least five random people I knew each day just walking around.
My friend moved to Maine and we visited last summer. The number of six to ten minute car trips we had to make was infuriating, as was having to cross six lanes of traffic for my wife to get coffee.
My personal view is also that growing inequality has reached a breaking point. People should have access to healthcare, childcare, cheaper housing and a good education--and if it means I need to pay a little more to make sure my neighbor doesn't go hungry, face housing instability, or can't afford childcare, so be it.
This is a tax that would be economically meaningful to me only if I made more than my parents ever made cumulatively.
For me, the bundle of what New York offers is worth more than the marginal tax savings—and I suspect that's true for more people than we admit. I haven't seen research that proves the majority of high income people prioritize tax-friendly domiciles—just anecdotes and high level numbers, not actual studies.
One study I saw said that when millionaires move, they actually only lower their taxes 15% of the time.
Whatever you want to sign, I respect your right to voice your opinion.
- From my weekly NYC tech newsletter (https://www.next.nyc/)
