I could care less about how young Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is, whether or not she's from the Bronx, how many Twitter followers she has or how well she can dance (stories that seem to dominate the news these days). But I do find her support of a 70% "super tax" to be idiotic, especially in light of how France's super tax devastated its economy.
The main problem with France's 75% tax was emigration, as many French businesses decided to leave France for more welcoming shores. This business emigration led to a zero growth economy (Link) and revenues that were 14 billion euros shy of an expected 30 billion in tax collections (Link).
As Forbes states: "This trend of emigration persisted at the macro level as an estimated 2.5 million French citizens now live abroad in the U.K., Belgium and other countries sporting more competitive income tax rates" (Link). In hopes of bringing businesses (and their tax revenues) back into its country, France eventually was forced to abandon its super tax.
Cortez' zero percent growth plan, if passed, will undoubtedly have the same miserable results. Super taxes may sound great on paper, but their effects tend to chase businesses away. If Cortez' super tax pipe dreams come true, New York businesses - and the jobs that they provide - will be emigrating at a mind boggling pace.
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