U.S. tax rates on gambling competitive disadvantage online?
 

Hi,
I've been contemplating an issue over the past couple of years. I live in the U.S. and pay a high % of my poker earnings to taxes. Esp. if you are in the highest tax bracket, these rates get to be pretty high. As I have been attempting to move to the highest online limits, I could not help to think how big of a help it would be to have the taxes back that I paid in building my bankroll. It seems to me that I'm at a major disadvantage in competing with other players that are not paying any taxes (who I am competing with).
It seems comparable to two businesses competing with one another, one pays taxes, but the other does not, at least in a sense.
I mentioned this to one of my poker playing friends from the UK, and he said that he thought that it evened out because the U.S. cost of living was better. I'm not sure how that could be true, esp. for high stakes players, who sometimes pay an amount high enough in taxes in a year to cover normal cost of living expenses for years at a time.
From my limited knowledge of the subject, many countries do not tax gambling incomes. As far as cost of living expenses, in some parts of the U.S. such as Los Angeles, a house can be extremely expensive.
Comments?

Re: U.S. tax rates on gambling competitive disadvantage online?
 

You wouldn't be at a "competitive disadvantage" to other players in a strict sense - you are not in competition with other players to make the most money, only trying to maximize your own take home income. You really don't care if someone in another country keeps a bigger % of their income since that doesn't affect you or your decisions in any way.

If you want to make a decision to maximize your disposable income, then you consider how much you take home (after tax) and the cost of living.

High-stakes players have a heavier tax burden but have more tax planning / minimization tools available to them. As your income rises, the cost of living becomes less important since it eats up less % of your income, but the value of safety, luxuries and a predictable environment increase in value. This somewhat offsets the higher burden of paying taxes.

If you can find a non-taxed environment offering everything else that you value, then you are personally better off moving. Whether the people you are playing are paying taxes though offers no benefit or loss to you at all though.