Escape from taxes: Californians and New Yorkers flee to Texas

By Bethania Wonagseged —

Americans are fleeing tax-heavy California and New York for tax havens in Texas, Tennessee and Florida.

“It’s very, very clear that people ultimately vote with their feet and when they feel like they’re getting taxed too much, they go somewhere else where they will be taxed less,” says Heritage Foundation chief economist E.J. Antoni.

“If you look at where these people are going, they’re not going to Massachusetts or Illinois or California. They’re going to Texas,” Antoni adds. “They’re going to Tennessee. They’re going to Florida — places with low or no income taxes and low overall levels of taxation.”

The latest IRS data show the top 10 counties with the largest net losses of taxpayers were all located in California and New York.

Los Angeles County, with its bustling military production industry and movie business, led the nation with a net loss of 17,496 tax filers — that’s a loss of $1.9 billion of income no longer available for state tax.

Other major counties in California and New York saw similar losses: Queens County, NY (down 17,109), the Bronx (down 16,319), Orange County, CA (down 11,618) and Suffolk County, NY (down 10,434).

Manhattan bucked the trend, gaining more tax filers than any other county in the nation. BUT it is simultaneously losing nearly $1 billion in adjusted gross income. The newcomers don’t make as much as those leaving.

“What baffles me, especially as a former New Yorker, is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of concern in the states that are losing people,” says Paul Teller, a conservative strategist who worked in the Trump-Pence White House.

The IRS data are compiled from federal tax returns. The figures paint a picture of where Americans are relocating, taking their taxable income with them. The interstate migration can affect state and local tax collections, which help fund schools, public safety and infrastructure.

Other losers were San Diego County, CA (down 9,401); Nassau County, NY (down9,130); Riverside County, CA (down 8,968); San Bernardino County, CA (down 8,462); and Kings County, NY (down 6,924).

Winners were Maricopa County, AZ (up 9,353); Harris County, TX (up 8,955); King County, WA (up 8,297); and Clark County, NV (up 7,524).

Good luck to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who wants to raise taxes even more, freeze rents and provide free city buses and city-owned grocery stores. It’s hard to add city programs when the coffers shrink.

California got a billionaire’s tax on its November ballot. The proposed tax would hit billionaires who resided in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026 with a one-time 5% tax on all their assets. Multiple billionaires left the state. Instead of getting a boon to its budget, California may wind up with worse shortfalls, as the taxable income residing in the state disappeared.

Accordingly, the Golden State is now just bronze.

Sources: Fox News, others.