New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) said Tuesday that he is prepared to raise city property taxes by nearly 10% if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and state lawmakers refuse to increase taxes on corporations and high-income earners.
Mamdani released his preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget proposal outlining how he intends to close a projected $5.4 billion deficit. The mayor described a property tax increase as a “last resort” but made clear it remains on the table if Albany does not act.
“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. The other, a last resort: balance the budget on the backs of working people using the only tools at the City’s disposal,” Mamdani wrote Tuesday on X.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the mayor’s proposal calls for a 9.5% increase in city property taxes, which would generate an estimated $3.7 billion in additional revenue. The budget also proposes drawing down $1.2 billion from the city’s reserves to help close the deficit.
Mamdani, who won election last fall after campaigning heavily on affordability and promises to shift more of the tax burden to top earners, acknowledged the financial strain of new initiatives such as free bus service and city-run grocery stores. He has argued that the state should allow higher taxes on wealthy residents and large corporations before city officials turn to property owners.
During a press conference at City Hall, Mamdani defended his position when pressed on whether he would follow through with a property tax hike if state leaders decline to raise taxes.
“This is not a conversation on the basis of ideology. This is a conversation about a fiscal crisis. I have long believed in the importance of taxing the rich. I’ve said so publicly many a time, and I’ve long believed in the need for the state and the city’s relationship to be a fair one. What we are speaking about in this moment, however, is not just that long-standing belief, the long-standing issues that have characterized that relationship, but a generational fiscal crisis of $5.4 billion,” the mayor said.
He added:
“And when faced with this crisis, the question is: who should pay these taxes? I believe that it should be the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations. I believe they can afford to pay a little bit more. We are in the most expensive city in the United States of America. I firmly believe in the need to make this an affordable city. I believe that we do so and reckon with structural crises by pursuing the first path — one of raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations, and ending the drain.”
A reporter asked directly whether he would ultimately raise property taxes if Albany refuses to act.
“When push comes to shove, raise the property taxes,” the reporter said.
“I do not want to raise property taxes. I have said time and time again that it is a broken system, one that we are sincerely looking to reform, which is why we’re going to be sending up a proposed piece of legislation in the next few weeks. What I am showcasing to New Yorkers is that there is one tax the city can raise. It is a broken property tax system. We do not want to do so, which is why we have said, time and again, that we want to work with Albany to ensure that we resolve this fiscal crisis by addressing the structural roots of it,” Mamdani replied.
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Well they voted for a Muslim Communist.
They were actually stupid enough to believe all of the lies.
Now the pain is required to demonstrate what happens when a person like Barak Hussein Obama is put into power again.
So, make more popcorn, sit back and watch the fun.
Why should the population of the rest of New York state, be they ultra-wealthy or corporations, pay to make New York city “more affordable” to live in? The less well off in the city already receive “financial assistance”.
When Mamdani was running for mayor of New York City declaring all the things he was going to do, I said to myself the voters in New York City are smart enough to see through the hogwash he was going to impalement, but I was wrong they bought into all of his lies.
Free this free that —Nothing is free someone or Taxes will pay for it -The government dose’nt generate money —-!!