Questing for Atlantis

Maryland has fewer millionaires than it did before it passed a tax increase on top earners and state revenues are down as a result.

The number of Marylanders whose returns indicate an income of $1 million or more dropped 30 percent – from 7,067 to 4,910 – between the 2007 and 2008 tax years.

Most of the missing 2,157 probably dropped out of the top bracket because of economic reverses. But 542 who filed in 2007 didn’t file at all in the next year. Presumably most either died or – more likely – moved to more tax-friendly states