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Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary reveals why he was forced to flee East Coast state for the South
Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank fame has revealed that he left Massachusetts for the sandy shores of Florida because of the high taxes in the East Coast state.
The multi-millionaire businessman, who had a home in Boston, called the New England state 'Taxachusetts' during an appearance on Maria Bartiromo's show on Fox Business.
'I left there in "Taxachusetts." I moved to Florida. Most of my neighbors where I live are all from hometown Boston and we can't afford to live there anymore,' he said.
He also name dropped Sen. Elizabeth Warren and squad leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, citing various policies proposed by them over the years to increase taxes on rich people.
'These ideas don't work, they just don't work,' O'Leary, who now lives near Miami Beach with his wife, said.
Kevin O'Leary said high taxes in Massachusetts is what convinced him it was time to relocate to Florida, a state without an income tax
A house located on Barefoot Beach Road at Bonita Springs in southwest Florida. The average home price there is just over $575,000
First, O'Leary mentioned what he called Warren's 'super tax.'
What this refers to is the Massachusetts senator's repeated attempts to pass a bill called the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, which would see high-net-worth individuals get taxed 2 percent on every dollar they make above $50 million.
For households worth over $1 billion, Warren wants to charge them an additional surtax of 1 percent.
This billionaire tax would also apply to trusts as well, financial vehicles commonly used by wealthy people to manage and distribute their assets.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal reintroduced this act alongside Warren and a smattering of progressive co-sponsors in March, but it hasn't yet left the committee.
O'Leary didn't specifically mention AOC's tax proposal, but back in 2019 when she was first elected, she suggested raising the top marginal income tax rate to 70 percent.
The last time top marginal rates were this high was when President John F. Kennedy was in office, and he actually cut the rate from 90 percent down to 70 percent
But neither of these policies have come to pass, and even if they did, they'd be broadly applied to all Americans who meet the proposed income thresholds, not anyone from any one particular state.
So what actually forced O'Leary out of Boston?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has long pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy and made it the cornerstone of her run for president during the 2020 Democratic Primary
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested raising the top marginal tax rate to 70 percent in 2019. She also supports Warren's tax proposal
It's likely a ballot measure Massachusetts voters approved in 2022 that hiked taxes for anyone making $1 million or more.
Essentially, any taxable income above that $1 million bracket is now taxed at nine percent instead of the previous five percent.
The state government said the new tax has generated an additional $1.8 billion in revenue, which will pay for various transportation and education initiatives.
But Florida, where O'Leary chose to officially relocate, has no state income tax at all.
Texas also doesn't have an income tax, which is partly why many Californians have fled to the state, on top of cheaper housing and better work opportunities.
O'Leary's contention is that the policies of comparatively higher taxed and more stringently regulated states like California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts lead to them becoming 'uninvestable.'
He also commented on France's new left-wing leaders vowing to bring a 90 percent tax rate for annual income above 400,000 euros.
'The French have tried this before,' he said, adding that wealthy citizens 'all moved to Monaco...or to Switzerland and they just made sure their domicile was not France.'