Video: Do Rich New Yorkers Actually Flee Higher Taxes?

There's only a week or so left for lawmakers and the governor to hash out the state budget, and income taxes are just one of the many sticking points.

Governor Kathy Hochul doesn't want to raise those taxes at all, while the legislature has countered with half-percent increases in the taxes on people making $5 million and $25 million every year, to generate another $700 million in revenue for the state.

More ambitious proposals exist, like raising taxes on inheritances over $5 million, or taxing unrealized capital gains. But those initiatives, which would raise tens of billions of dollars, have died on the vine.

Perhaps the most common excuse repeated by politicians who don't want to tax the rich is that the rich will just up and leave!

But is this true? Will the wealthiest New Yorkers just pack their shit and vacate their museum board seats and private school networks for the lower-tax climes of Florida or Texas?

Filmmakers Jeff Seal, Chris Libbey, and Nick Libbey—who previously have captured the beauty of people attempting to cross the street during the NYC Marathon and made a strong case for Good Cause Eviction legislation in the New York Times—tackled the subject with their unique blend of pavement-pounding zeal, engaging interviews, and a halfway decent Peter Falk impression. You'll be singing "Sixty-eight percenttttttt!" while you brush your teeth tonight.