comment: >
  
  you know how you get low crime... public assistance/programs/facilities
  when everything is privatized and only the wealthy can afford them, those who are struggling will resort to crime in order to survive.
  you claim the net is "glue" but where is your evidence that ppl would rather take a hand out than make a meaningful contribution to society?
  keep in mind a lot of the means tested benefits that we do manage to provide are taken away as soon as you make any money for yourself at all
  to get medicaid, you you have maintain less than $2000 worth of "wealth"
  that's insulting.
context: Correct me if I am wrong but the United States is one of the very few countries in the world to impose income taxes based on citizenship meaning even US citizens who live in foreign countries are still taxed with the same tax rates as resident citizens. Other countries seem to have no problem with the U.S. using this very different taxation tactic. So, even if the income tax rate was to be raised on the wealthy Americans, I highly doubt they could avoid it by moving out without renouncing their US citizenship entirely.
  Also, as seen here, plenty of Europeans have become tax exiles. >
  
  When I lived outside the US for over 12 months, I didn’t pay any US or state taxes. >
  
  You’re supposed to file them since other countries aren’t gonna do the hassle of calculating your taxes. So in the eyes of the IRS you’re a tax cheat lol >
  
  There’s something called the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion where the first $112k earned abroad is tax free. With a few exceptions like if you own a business (then you may still owe social security tax depending on the country you’re in) or if you’re a government employee. >
  
  You still need to file your taxes even if you don't have to pay anything. Also, if you opened up foreign bank account(s) that ever totalled over $10,000, you need to file FBARs for each account. >
  
  Yes. You need to file but you don’t necessary owe anything. >
  
  Tax flight does occur, but the billionaires usually move to European tax havens like Switzerland or Monaco rather than the US. >
  
  That’s where rich Americans keep their money too >
  
  European countries don’t tax the wealthy much more than the US. The US has one of the most stratified tax systems in the developed world with high income Americans paying near European levels of taxation.
  The real difference between European and American taxes lies in the taxation of the middle class (who are far more heavily taxed in Europe) and to a lesser extant the lower class who are also more heavily taxed in Europe.
  The flip side is that Europeans get more social services. >
  
  
  The flip side is that Europeans get more social services.
  
  This is important. I may be taxed less in the US, but I pay a lot of money for private health insurance for my family that would otherwise be covered in slightly higher taxes through a single payer system. >
  
  This right here. For an  average US male in his 40's in the US, the health insurance premiums are around $800 to $1200/month, which is usually split with the employer. I'd be happy to pay an extra $500/month for single payer healthcare in taxes, and my employer could give me a raise that would cover most of it. >
  
  Why would your employer give you a raise? The single payer plans that have been proposed so far include hefty taxes on corporations to fund it. Your employer wouldn't have any extra money to give you a raise. >
  
  They just move an amount the employer is already spending on insurance premiums. >
  
  
  Is there any way to convince the wealthy that their tax money is being put to good use and convince them to stay in the State in which they reside?
  
  Short answer: No.
  The wealthy elite in Europe (wealthiest 0.5%) may reside in London, Paris and Rome (just as examples) but their wealth does not. They are legally listed as residents of Monaco or multiple "offshore" countries that tax them at a much lower rate.
  Take for example the Non-Domicile tax status in the United Kingdom. A person whose main home (or domicile) is not subject to tax in the UK on all non-UK income or capital gains as long as that person keeps that income "offshore".
  It's a very beneficial arrangement. So much so that the current Prime Minister's wife also claimed non-dom status. The leader of the UK is married to a woman whose considerable wealth and income is wholly outside the country. This is true for thousands of the wealthiest individuals in Europe. Here is partial list of notable people who claim Non-Domicile status in the UK.
  List of people with non-domiciled status in the UK
  
  It seems overall that upper income earners in Europe, Canada, and Australia despise higher taxes to a much lesser extent than the wealthy in the United States. Is it an ethos problem which is ultimately irreparable? If not, what's the work around?
  
  The rich are the same all over the globe and they also inhabit the same spaces, utilize the same attorneys and accountants. They ALL shield their immense wealth from both world governments and the prying eyes of outsiders. This is the main reason why we can't have nice things.
  The wealthy elite are not just aware of the damage they're doing to global societies but they are preparing for the inevitable collapse.
  Hunting the One Percent’s Doomsday Bunkers in New Zealand
  Billionaire bunkers: How the 1% are preparing for the apocalypse >
  
  
  This is the main reason why we can't have nice things. >
  
  Here's the thing...wealthy people want a certain lifestyle. They want luxury amenities, cars, good infrastructure, nice buildings, boats, planes....places to use those things. They want culture, food, clothes...material goods....They aren't going to move to say Uzbekistan just to avoid taxes (for example - I do not know what taxes are like there). 
  If you can provide them what they want...they'll pay. The threats to leave are just threats. The people who actually leave are the people in the middle who cannot afford to live in these places. This is why you increasingly seem young people in the US moving overseas. Though it's hard to track because the US, and a lot of places, don't track emigration. >
  
  Right? And you can see it play out in real time. I’m a California native so I’ve lived my entire life hearing about the imminent socialist taxation economic collapse that’s coming any minute.
  Unfortunately I’m forced to visit San Francisco or Los Angeles every couple years, and the traffic is worse every single year. People seem to love those places and will pay shockingly ludicrous fortunes for a one week visit, never mind the people that move there and try to make a life. 
  Look at who stays and who leaves. Did Hollywood collapse when joe Rogan fucked off to Texas, or did nobody care because we’ve got bigger things going on here than a washed up radio host?
  This may come as a shock, but rich people like paying big money for nice things. Maybe you’ve heard of coach?
  I dunno. I’m a libertarian, and to me, it’s pretty clear that the free market is speaking. People in general appear to like paying higher taxes for better services. >
  
  CA and other hight tax states are seeing significant out migration.  CA and NY both lost house seats as a result. >
  
  This seems to be more because of aging populations performing wealth transfers by moving. >
  
  Many middle and working class are fleeing. >
  
  I'm not gonna pretend I know taxes. However, a cursory glance at the wikipedia entries for the panama papers and capital flight implies that they generally don't prevent wealth flight.
  Anecdotally, every conversation I've seen online about taxes from european nations has told me your average european is much happier to pay them. They don't have to deal with garbage like Turbotax lobbying the government to keep taxes complicated, and they get much more return on investment. >
  
  The problem is that the rich and rich corporations can pay zero, Trump paid zero many years.   And there are tax schemes where the rich can keep their money hidden from taxes in their capital gains and borrow at very low rates instead when they need money, so they borrow and pay a few percent instead of the 35% that many have to.
  America has  a problem with the rich fooling the poor in thinking taxes are bad so they can avoid paying them.  We could shore up Social Security by just raising the limit on how much income is taxed which is only $180K now.
  We have another problem the poverty rate is not realistic.  It's set at like $5 an hour for the lowest when in reality even at $15 an hour you could not even qualify three times the income to afford a one bedroom apartment. >
  
  Wealth flight is a thing there as well. When France passed their quickly aborted millionaire tax, other countries advertised their lower tax rates. >
  
  As some are pointing out, Europeans like their high taxes because they see returns on them. 
  On the American side of things, we have an almost cult like hatred of taxes because of mass propaganda campaigns run in politics for decades to make people earning under 400K that taxes on the higher income brackets will just fall on them with no benefit. 
  These right wing propaganda campaigns have also led to social programs being villainized and made anemic from day one, sabotaging them while making public action in the economy seem like a huge failure. >
  
  uh no. the rich in europe have all their money in offshore bank accounts just like they do in the US >
  
  You’re almost right. Taxes are popular with everyone until they are the ones that have to pay for it. The American public loves raising taxes for other people. >
  
  If you saw the US through their eyes, you’d understand why they’re happy to pay for a premium experience. >
  
  It's quite simple: moving to a different country is not a small step, and most people won't consider doing that just for a slightly lower income tax bill, especially considering you then also have to find a new job. Aside from that, taxes are not that high anyway, with marginal rates usually not higher than 60%, compared to historical rates in the US of over 90% (which also did not lead to a mass exodus).
  If people get their income mainly from capital it's a different story, but those taxes tend to be low in every Western country. Sweden has roughly twice as many billionaires per capita as the US. >
  
  Wealth flight isn't really a thing. The US used to have much higher taxes and, to no one's surprise, the rich didn't leave. Wealth flight is just something Republicans use to justify unfairly low taxes for the rich (who happen to donate large sums of money to them). >
  
  The US effective tax rate at the top end hasn't changed much in nearly a century it was bumped to 36% in 1933. Topped out at 45% in 1945 and sits at 38% today. >
  
  There's a very big difference between nominal tax rates and effective tax rates. >
  
  Your link. Your link says what I said. It varies range slightly but that can mostly be hand waved by your links admitted challenge of measuring effective rates at a macro level.
  I said 45 down to 38. Your link says 40 down to 25. >
  
  Your decrease is less than half what their decrease is. Regardless, my claim was that the US had much higher taxes. 40% to 25% is a huge drop, especially for people making millions. >
  
  Your claimed decrease was 45%! Versus somewhere between 8 and 15 in reality. >
  
  It varies by which European state, but most of them raise their taxes from VAT and sales taxes, and not very progressive income taxes such that the vast majority of taxes are paid by the middle and working classes, who in turn receive much of the government spending.
  You write " everyone wants to have a nice social safety net...but also nobody wants to pay for it" which is not quite right.  Better to say that no-one who wants a nice social safety net wants to be the one to pay for it.  By no means does everyone want government in that role. >
  
  Not sure how popular the "social safety net" thing is anymore.  Feels like that net is lined with sticky glue.  A lot of people milk that and up being a taker when they dont have to be.  A lot of working class people resent that and you cant blame them.  
  High taxes would be more acceptable if and only if you get a lot for those taxes.  Like perfect roads, super low crime, efficient Govt., etc.  Even then, it is a tough sell because taxation means less money for you to spend on yourself and your family. Its like, most of us work reasonably hard and long to get where we are and its not fun watching a lot of it get thrown into the "community" tip jar.