[Paladin2]

Rush moved out’a NYC.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Smoot Hawley for starters.

[SaraJohnson]

For these kind of socialist versus free market ecomomic studies, go to Cato or the Heritage Foundation.

[IDRATHERNOT]

Depending on what you mean by “development”, I’d kick it right back....”Provide evidence that taxes encourage development”.

The bottom line is that taxes are a transfer of capital from the productive part of the economy (individuals/business) to the unproductive (government).

[wita]

Why are jobs moving from the US overseas. Because our corporate tax structure says they should. Once again government is the problem not the solution.

[Migraine]

Taxing cigarettes at confiscatory rates has been a huge cog in the decline of smoking in this country (whether that is good or bad is irrelevant to this discussion at this point). Those industries have had to diversify into everything from mincemeat to mayonnaise, while selling lotsa smokes in China.

Rule of thumb (two sided coin): IF YOU WANT MORE OF SOMETHING, SUBSIDIZE IT; IF YOU WANT LESS OF SOMETHING, TAX IT.

[OCCASparky]

Ask yourself this question--if taxes increase, are you more productive to overcome the loss of YOUR income, or are you more likely to find ways of government supplementing that loss. In the long run, taxes, while necessary to a certain point, then become counter-productive in so far as people become LESS productive and those with the highest burdens seek shelters for their income instead of spending it.

For a specific example, look at the economic downturn towards the end of the Great Depression in 1937-38. That economic downturn occured just as many of the New Deal programs such as SSI, etc., and the taxes associated with them went into effect.

[cripplecreek]

Michigan.

[mewzilla]

Here's a book recommendation....

The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen (Paperback), by Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter Tanous.

Chock full of facts, figures, charts, and footnotes. And very readable.

Every taxpayer ought to read this book.

[Rippin]

Use the great ‘luxury’ tax on boats from the 1990s as an example. They finally eliminated the tax on the rich to help the middle class. Bump, set, spike, game, set match.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/03/opinion/l-boat-luxury-tax-drives-an-industry-aground-926091.html

They also might want to think about what JFK had to say on the subject:

But this is so insane it is unmanageable to discuss it with morons. The question is a bit like asking “do you have an actual example of gravity pulling objects toward each other? Just one.” Yes it really is that stupid.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Simple Mathematics?

[randita]

Read Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. He covers this topic extremely well.

[caver]

Incentive

[mcswan]

A personal example: I own a small manufacturing business. As with all business, the cost of employing workers is the highest single category of my "cost of doing business." Taxes are a big component of the payroll costs. When the state or federal government raise taxes, that adds to my "cost of doing business" and my choices are to raise prices, reduce costs elsewhere, or lay off workers.

Since most businesses (mine included) operate on very low margins and in highly competitive industries, there is very little opportunity to raise prices, or to cut costs other than payroll costs. When taxes are raised, therefore, I end up laying off workers or not hiring the new employees I had hoped to hire. Lowering taxes reduces the cost of doing business and encourages business expansion. Raising taxes increases the cost of doing business and discourages business expansion.

By the way, businesses do not pay taxes; we collect taxes for the government and pass the increased cost on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. When that is no longer possible, business stops altogether.

[MrPiper]

simple, luxury tax from the 70’s. Killed boat industry.

[NC28203]

See this thread:
BP, ConocoPhillips Reduce 2010 Spending Plans in Alaska

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392578/posts

BP and ConocoPhillips have reduced their capital spending and developmental budgets for Alaska in 2010 because of higher costs to produce mature fields, disappointing exploratory results and the state’s new tax regime

[mewzilla]

An informative link....

The Laffer Curve: Past, Present, and Future

[mad_as_he$$]

Many companies receive relief from taxes to develop or build facilities. Here in Reno Cabela’s got tax relief to build their store. They would not have built unless they got the relief.

[MosesKnows]

Any evidence taxes stifle development

I see many cogent responses to your query. I trust they will aid you but since you could have researched the question as easy as anyone who responded, I want to know why you asked the question.

[ctdonath2]

NY used to take a big chunk of my income.
I left, in part due to taxes.
Now NY gets none of my income.
So much for “development” via high taxes.