{"id":2592779,"date":"2026-04-20T11:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-professor-blue-states-taxing-fleeing-residents-are-like-deranged-ex-spouse-in-denial\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:03:03","slug":"law-professor-blue-states-taxing-fleeing-residents-are-like-deranged-ex-spouse-in-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/law-professor-blue-states-taxing-fleeing-residents-are-like-deranged-ex-spouse-in-denial\/","title":{"rendered":"Law Professor: Blue States Taxing Fleeing Residents Are Like &#8216;Deranged Ex-Spouse In Denial&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flaw-professor-blue-states-taxing-fleeing-residents-are-like-deranged-ex-spouse-in-denial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2592779&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A recent piece reports that George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley criticized aggressive tax strategies being pursued by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-sues-deep-blue-city-mayor-for-records-related-to-fraud\/\" title=\"Watchdog Sues Deep Blue City Mayor for Records Related to Fraud\">blue-state governments<\/a> to target wealthy individuals who have left the state but still own valuable property there. In particular, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul advanced a pied-\u00e0-terre tax aimed at residents who no longer live in the city but maintain high-value property, with critics calling the move legally dubious and retroactive. Turley argued these \u201cteddy Bear\u201d laws are designed to trap people who have relocated, comparing the attitude to a denial-filled ex-spouse refusing to accept a breakup. He suggested such policies signal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/japanification-how-americas-economy-could-see-a-permanent-decline\/\" title=\"\u2018Japanification\u2019: How America\u2019s Economy Could See A Permanent Decline\">economic atrophy<\/a> as wealth and businesses relocate to states like Texas and Florida, while policymakers try to capture former residents. The report notes a broader trend among blue states, including Washington and Virginia, toward retroactive wealth taxes and measures that extend tax reach beyond borders; California is also considering the Billionaire Tax Act, which could apply to former residents after relocation.The article is produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation with accompanying disclosures and is republished by the Western Journal.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley warned Friday about what he called an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-slam-psakis-space-force-slight\/\" title=\"Republicans Slam Psaki\u2019s Space Force Slight\">increasingly aggressive<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >legally dubious tax strategy emerging<\/a> from high-tax, Democrat-led states.Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/16\/opinion\/democrat-states-are-desperate-to-tax-the-rich-even-after-they-leave\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">advanced<\/a> a pied-&agrave;-terre tax aimed at wealthy individuals who no longer reside in the city but still own high-value property there.<\/p>\n<p>Turley said on &ldquo;Kudlow&rdquo; that efforts like those in New York represent legal overreach, as states craft regulations that extend beyond their borders to target individuals who have already relocated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The blue states are solving their problem with this exodus of people leaving by making taxes retroactive and trying to essentially capture people in the state. These teddy bear laws are basically designed, or regulations are designed, in New York and other states, to say we&rsquo;re just not going to accept that you left us,&rdquo; Turley told host Larry Kudlow.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like a deranged ex-spouse in denial. They just say you really didn&rsquo;t leave us. You still love us, you&rsquo;re still here. You&rsquo;ve got all of these so-called items of affection here. You must still want to be with us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Turley said blue-state tax policies reflect economic atrophy as wealth and businesses exit for states like Texas and Florida, while policymakers focus instead on trying to capture or trap residents who are already leaving.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And it&rsquo;s an absolutely bizarre situation. What you&rsquo;re witnessing is economic atrophy. You&rsquo;re watching these economies contract. You&rsquo;re watching the exodus of wealthy individuals and businesses to more positive environments,&rdquo; Turley added.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And instead of looking at Texas, looking at Florida, trying to create those magnets for new residents, they&rsquo;re trying to capture or trap people who are trying to leave.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The pied-&agrave;-terre tax reflects a broader wave of tax hikes across blue states, including Washington and Virginia, aimed at extracting revenue from wealthy residents before they relocate. California and other states have also explored retroactive wealth taxes and so-called &ldquo;Teddy Bear laws&rdquo; that treat sentimental or residual ties to the state as grounds to maintain tax residency even after individuals have moved.<\/p>\n<p>California has also advanced the proposed Billionaire Tax Act, a one-time 5 percent levy on residents with net worth above $1 billion. The proposal would tax individuals based on paper valuations of their companies and, under its design, could still pursue former residents after relocation, raising concerns among entrepreneurs about retroactive enforcement and interstate tax reach.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley warned on Friday about a rising, legally questionable tax tactic being pushed by high-tax, Democratic-led states. In particular, New York Governor Kathy Hochul advanced a pied-\u00e0-terre tax aimed at wealthy people who still own valuable property in the city even if they no longer reside there. Turley argued on Kudlow that such measures reach beyond state borders to target people who have already moved, effectively retroactively taxing them and trying to \u201chold\u201d them to the state. He likened it to a deranged ex-spouse in denial, insisting that the moved residents still belong and still have ties to the state. He said blue-state policies reflect economic decay as wealth and business relocate to places like Texas and Florida, while policymakers instead seek to trap those who are leaving.<\/p>\n<p>The pied-\u00e0-terre tax is part of a broader wave of blue-state tax increases aimed at extracting revenue from affluent residents before they relocate. California and other states have floated retroactive wealth taxes and so-called \u201cTeddy Bear laws\u201d that treat lingering sentimental ties to a state as grounds to maintain tax residency after relocation. California has also proposed the Billionaire Tax Act, a one-time 5% levy on residents with net worth above $1 billion, which could still pursue former residents after they move, prompting concerns about retroactive enforcement and interstate tax reach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2592780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7745.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[75037,69611,73555,14431,50934],"class_list":["post-2592779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-blue-states-2","tag-interstate-migration","tag-legal-analysis-2","tag-residency","tag-taxation-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7745.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2592779"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2592783,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592779\/revisions\/2592783"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2592780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2592779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2592779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2592779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}