Connecticut billionaire moves to Florida; could add $30 million to the deficit

Billionaire and hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has left Connecticut and moved to Florida according to a report in Bloomberg News. Jones, the head of Tudor Investment Corp., opened an office in Palm Beach, Florida, and registered to vote there in November 2015.

Although his company still maintains its headquarters in Greenwich, Jones will no longer be paying income taxes in Connecticut. He is estimated to be worth $4.7 billion, according to Forbes Magazine.

Jones’ 2014 income as a hedge fund manager was listed as $600 million by CNN Money, which would make his annual income tax about $30 million per year. The state of Florida has no income tax.

In 2015, Jones bought an estate in Palm Beach for $71.2 million.

Connecticut’s income tax revenue has fallen short of expectations despite passing the two largest tax hikes in state history in just five years. The decrease in revenue has led to major budget deficits, which the state is still trying to balance. The deficit for the fiscal year that begins tomorrow is estimated to be $911 million.

Connecticut also experienced a loss of population recently, with many higher income residents, retirees and young graduates moving to states with lower tax burdens and more economic opportunity.

Jones made headlines in 2015 when he gave a TED talk on the problems of the wealth gap in America. Connecticut has the second highest income gap in the nation according to WallSt. 24/7, which ranked states based on U.S. census data. Jones also began a nonprofit company called Just Capital, which reviews and ranks corporations based on how the companies treat employees, their surrounding community, the environment and leadership ethics. His idea was to create a resource for investing in socially-conscious companies.