Normally I would not be able to tie the article in today's Wall Street Journal to B'game except I spoke to a local friend this week who was considering moving out of state after the recent passage of Prop. 30. The Journal article is titled "Moving Sale: A Chateau on the Cheap?" and relays how upper income French folk are selling their high-end real estate (sometimes multiple properties) and leaving the country.
The number of high-end homes on the market has increased, with sales due to expatriations skyrocketing this year to several a week from a few a month, says Charles-Marie Jottras, president of leading luxury brokerage Daniel Féau. Fiscal expats account for more than half of the homes Daniel Féau lists between $6.4 million and $19.2 million, compared with about 10% in prior years.
And it goes on to note
Of course, the French have been moving abroad for decades to escape the country's punishing taxes. But the profile of those leaving is changing. In the past, the typical fiscal expat was a golf-playing retired Frenchman, who packed up after the kids left home and 40 years of paying French taxes, brokers say.
Today, the new expats are younger and still earning their fortunes, a reflection of the government's shift toward targeting high salaries instead of household wealth, as well as the greater ease of moving across Europe's open borders.
So, who knows? The California "barbell economy" and long-term trend of people leaving for OR, AZ and CO could impact our state economy in a similar way as we move to the highest state income tax rate in the country.
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