Will the last one out of Jersey please turn out the lights

From the Star Ledger:

Taxes driving people out of Jersey

Some see it as an exodus. Others call it a mass migration. But it's really a financial flight.

In interviews with dozens of New Jersey residents, financial advisers and estate planning attorneys, one thing becomes apparent: People are being taxed out of New Jersey.

"I've always felt there's a level of taxation where people say, 'Enough is enough,'" said Curtis Dubay, an economist with the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., nonpartisan tax research group. "If any state has pushed the line, it's New Jersey."

According to the foundation's 2006 State Business Tax Climate Index, New Jersey has the third highest tax load in the nation. For 2007, it's probably going to be worse, Dubay said.

"I have little doubt that New Jersey will be the worst ranked state with regard to taxes," he said.

There's no question people are leaving. And, they have been for some time. Internal Revenue Service data shows each of New Jersey's 21 counties suffered a net population loss in 2004, the most recent year data is available. In that year, nearly 100,000 households left the state, taking with them $1 billion in personal income.

They're leaving for more tax-friendly states such as Florida, Nevada and Delaware, IRS data shows. Here are the stories of five families of different financial means who have either left, or might leave, New Jersey.