The crowds are milling outside the gates and the tax collector is sharpening his knives. Where's a poor billionaire to go?rnThere was a brief period, beginning in the Reagan Administration, when the U.S. was something of a tax haven. It got its taxes low enough that a prosperous entrepreneur who had other reasons for coming might voluntarily subject himself to the jurisdiction of the IRS. Rupert Murdoch comes to mind.rnThat era is over. The Obama Administration is fighting a war on capital. Rich people are going to be punished. The migration out will begin with New York and California, fiscal hellholes that will be pilfering the bank accounts of any wealthy person foolish enough to stick around.rnSwitzerland used to attract flight capital. No more. Its banks, now on the ropes, are squealing to tax inspectors. The next oligarch that gets on Putin's bad side probably won't head to Zug.rnIreland was for a while a growth tiger on the strength of low income tax rates and a willingness to take in tax exiles from other lands. It picked up some wealthy Americans, notably including a Campbell's Soup heir. But it would be a bad choice for relocation now. Its economy is tanking. Down the line, that means a tax grab on anybody who is still solvent.
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