Mamdani Threatens To Hike Property Taxes If Albany Refuses To Raise Income Taxes on Corporations and the ‘Ultrawealthy’

New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is threatening to raise property taxes for the first time in more than 20 years if lawmakers at Albany do not raise income taxes on “ultra-wealthy” New Yorkers and corporations. The increase being considered could amount to as much as 9.5 percent over existing tax rates for homeowners in the city.In a post on X on Tuesday, Mr. Mamdani said, “Today, I’m releasing the City’s preliminary budget. After years of fiscal mismanagement, we’re staring at a $5.4 billion budget gap — and two paths.”“One: Albany can raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy and the most profitable corporations and address the fiscal imbalance between our city and state,” he said. “The other, a last resort: balance the budget on the backs of working people using the only tools at the City’s disposal. The first path matches a structural crisis with a sustainable and fair solution. I know where I stand.”He added, “New Yorkers voted for bold change and competent leadership. We will deliver both, and we look forward to partnering with Albany to protect working New Yorkers.”The warning comes roughly a week after Mr. Mamdani said that the city’s deficit had shrunk by $5 billion — lower than he thought it was, which was attributed to improved tax collection, higher than expected Wall Street revenue, and other cost savings. It also came as he unveiled a proposed $127 billion budget, up from the $116 billion budget approved under Mayor Eric Adams last year.The smaller budget deficit is slightly less than the $7 billion that city officials said they spent to house illegal immigrants during the migration crisis under President Biden. In a statement, the city comptroller, Mark Levine, said that the city is “under the greatest fiscal strain since the Great Recession, despite a strong economy and record revenues from Wall Street.”“We are legally required to balance our budget, but it will not be easy. Even the measures proposed in the Mayor’s plan may not be enough, since they assume an aggressive revenue projection,” he said.He warned that hiking property taxes and relying on a “drawdown of reserves to close” the budget gap would have “dire consequences.” He also said that an “across-the-board increase” of the property tax would be “regressive.”Mr. Levine said that the city needs to “find greater efficiencies and savings across the city government. However, he said, “We also undoubtedly need greater assistance from Albany.”Mr. Mamdani campaigned on a 2 percent tax increase for residents making over $1 million a year, and on raising taxes on corporations. But in order to enact the tax increases, he would need the approval of the state legislature. New York City can, however, raise property taxes without approval from the legislature. The last time the city significantly hiked property taxes across the board was in 2003 under the administration of Michael Bloomberg.The Queens borough president, Donovan Richards, who endorsed Mr. Mamdani last fall, criticized the idea, telling reporters, “You’re going to force people out of their homes.”Meanwhile, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis wrote on X, “I fought to increase the SALT deduction on the federal level so New Yorkers could keep more of their hard earned money, not so this socialist can tax more. Property owners pay enough taxes. Now Mamdani wants to raise the rate?”Governor Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection this year, has expressed opposition to raising taxes on wealthy residents. During a press conference on Tuesday, Ms. Hochul seemed to downplay the threat of increased property taxes, saying, “[The city] is required by law to announce where it is today, but it’s not resolved until there’s a lot of negotiation with the City Council and a review with his budget team of what their real expenses are and what they need to be, and that’s not due until July, so there’s a lot of time to work this out.”“I’m not certain there’s a property tax increase,” she said. “That’s between the City Council and the mayor, they’re gonna look at that.”On Monday, Ms. Hochul also said that Albany would give New York City another $1.5 billion in state funding.

Mamdani Threatens To Hike Property Taxes If Albany Refuses To Raise Income Taxes on Corporations and the ‘Ultrawealthy’

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