Wealthy communities in NYC, Florida area could fall under Obama tax plan

Wealthy communities in NYC, Florida area could fall under Obama tax plan

September 19, 2011 04:00PM

Above Sutton Place and Oyster Bay, N.Y., below Fort Lauderdale and Bay Harbor Island, Fla.

With President Barack Obama proposing a new tax on millionaires, Forbes investigated what areas of the country have the highest concentration of high-income residents.

The data indicates that the New York City area and South Florida were among the top spots for the rich.

According to the analysis conducted by Forbes, four out of the five wealthiest communities in the country were in New York City area or in South Florida based on estimated net worth.

The analysis also looked at other factors such as relative tax burden and charitable giving. On Fisher Island, Key Largo, Boca Grande and Longboat Key, the wealthy don't pay more than 25 percent in taxes.

Many residents in the New York City area also aren't very charitable. Particularly in some rich New Jersey towns, residents give away 2 percent or less of their income, compared to an average of 2.9 percent. The same is true for Tribeca and a part of White Plains.

While in Tribeca, only 17 percent of income comes from investments, reflecting the younger demographic of the neighborhood, according to the analysis, on Fisher Island that number is 85 percent, and in Boca Raton and Key Largo, places where residents have already accumulated their wealth, it's 75 percent or more of income. [Forbes]