Florida Making Billions as Americans Flee High-Tax States

The state of Florida is making billions in tax revenue due to an influx of new residents fleeing high-tax states.

A new study performed by LendingTree found that the Sunshine State is “the number one largest beneficiary from relocations out of all 50 states — by a landslide,” according to Fox Business.

The 2016 IRS data analyzed showed that individuals who relocated to Florida brought in a combined adjusted gross income (AGI) of nearly $30.2 billion.

“Meanwhile, people who left took roughly $12.5 billion in income with them, leaving Florida to enjoy a net influx of about $17.7 billion in AGI,” the study said.

On July 21, Breitbart News reported that affluent New Yorkers were leaving the high-tax state for Miami-Dade County in order to relieve their financial stress.

However, in February, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried to blame President Trump’s tax cuts and the state of Florida for his state’s failure to cover this year’s budget.

“It literally restructured the economy to help red states at the cost of blue states,” he said. “He says it’s prompting many of the state’s richest residents — who pay 46 percent of the state’s income tax — to either change their primary residence or leave New York entirely.”

Later in March, Breitbart News reported that New York auditors were using sophisticated tools to track down taxpayers, causing them to leave and take up residence in more affordable areas.

“It is unclear how many of New York’s top taxpayers fled the state, but low-tax states like Texas and Florida gained residents,” the report said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) mother, Blanca Ocasio-Cortez, told reporters on March 4 that she moved to Florida to take advantage of the lower tax rate.

“I was paying $10,000 a year in real estate taxes up north,” she told the Daily Mail. “I’m paying $600 a year in Florida. It’s stress-free down here.”