“For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” That’s what Winston Churchill believed, and regardless of anyone’s personal opinion on the matter, it seems as though states trying to “tax themselves into prosperity” are scaring away some of their residents.
According to Gallup, 36 percent of residents who live in the states with the highest tax burden would like to leave their state if they could and only 26 percent of residents in the states with the lowest tax burden would do the same.
On a state-to-state breakdown, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Illinois lead the way for residents wanting to abandon ship with 46 percent, 46 percent, and 42 percent respectively. Montana, Oregon, and Washington find themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum with only 13 percent, 17 percent, and 19 percent wanting to leave.
However, the percentage of people who are actually planning to move is much smaller in these high tax burden states. For example, 12 percent of residents in Connecticut who said they would like to move to another state actually plan on doing so within the next 12 months.
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