How Do You Make a Millionaire Disappear?

There is at least one rule of thumb upon which conservatives, liberals and libertarians can agree:

If you want less of a certain type of activity, you tax it. If you want more, you reduce or eliminate taxes upon it (or you extend a tax relief "credit.")

That's one of the reasons anti-smoking advocates support higher taxes on cigarettes. Make it tougher on 'em.

It's why anti-drinking advocates want higher taxes on beer and alcohol. Discourage them.

Postal workers can tell you, the more the rate for a postage stamp has climbed over the years, the more innovative alternate ways people have found to send their important messages.

So guess what happened in one year after the State of Maryland imposed a new "millionaire tax" on its wealthy citizens?

Maryland plan to tax millionaires backfires

A year ago, Maryland became one of the first states in the nation to create a higher tax bracket for millionaires as part of a broader package of maneuvers intended to help balance the state's finances and make the tax code more progressive.

But as the state comptroller's office sifts through this year's returns, it is finding that the number of Marylanders with more than $1 million in taxable income who filed by the end of April has fallen by one-third, to about 2,000. Taxes collected from those returns as of last month have declined by roughly $100 million.

Oops! When you 1,000 of your millionaires move across state lines -- a fairly simple task in tiny Maryland -- you quickly re-learn our formula previously stated.

Admitting it, however, might take a bit longer.

... state officials insist that it's too early to determine if that has occurred and whether any exodus would even have a discernible impact on the state's overall budget.

Denial. It's not just a river in Egypt.