America's top destination for new taxpayers is quietly getting poorer, IRS data reveals
Wealthy Americans are continuing to flee high-tax states — and New York City is paying the price.Nowhere is that more apparent than in Manhattan. The borough led the nation in...
By Fox News · Fox News
Wealthy Americans are continuing to flee high-tax states — and New York City is paying the price. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Manhattan. The borough led the nation in new tax filers between 2022 and 2023, but it still lost roughly $922 million in adjusted gross income as high-income taxpayers departed and were replaced by lower-earning newcomers. With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, the migration of high-income taxpayers is becoming more than a demographic trend — it's a political and fiscal test for governors and state lawmakers. Wealthy households contribute a disproportionate share of income tax revenue in states with progressive tax systems, making the size and composition of a state's tax base critical to funding schools, infrastructure and other public services. As states compete to attract and retain affluent residents, the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers one of the clearest measures of which tax policies are winning, and which states are watching valuable tax dollars leave . AN OVERLOOKED RED STATE QUIETLY BUILT ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST COMPETITIVE TAX SYSTEMS Other parts of New York City and its surrounding suburbs also experienced significant outflows. According to the IRS data, Queens County lost 17,109 tax filers to interstate migration between 2022 and 2023, the second-largest net loss in the nation, while the Bronx lost 16,319. Suffolk County and Nassau County also ranked among the 10 counties with the biggest outflows. In fact, all 10 counties with the largest net losses in tax filers were located in either New York or California, underscoring the continued exodus from some of the nation’s highest-tax and most expensive states Democrat-run states. Many of the taxpayers leaving New York have relocated to lower-tax states such as Florida and Texas , which have been among the biggest beneficiaries of interstate migration in recent years and are conversely run by Republicans. FLOURISH MAP: WHERE AMERICANS PAY THE…