It’s a bit rich.
Democratic socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani pitched a 2% tax hike Wednesday on New York City’s millionaires to help pay for his freebie-filled agenda.
Mamdani unveiled his tax-the-rich proposal — which includes another hike targeting big corporations — in a news conference outside City Hall.
“We are putting forward a platform today that will raise $10 billion a year to pay for our agenda,” he said. “When it comes to taxing the 1% of New York City will do so by taxing them an additional 2%.”
Mamdani’s plan calls to increase corporate taxes by 4.5%, which campaign officials said would collect $5.4 billion from corporations.
Another $4 billion would come from the increased taxes on the wealthy, with additional income flowing in by beefing up the city’s tax collection agency, officials said.
The state Assembly member from Queens has risen from dark horse candidate to the runner up in polls, behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the crowded June Democratic mayoral primary.
Mamdani has done so through a mix of engaging TikTok-friendly videos and an unapologetically socialist agenda, promising free buses and childcare, a rent freeze and city-run food stores.
But his lofty goal of showering New Yorkers in freebies comes with a hefty price tag — and potential logistical hurdles.
Hiking income taxes would require approval by Albany lawmakers likely loathe to soak the rich.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio similarly vowed to raise taxes on the rich during his 2013 run, but he was stymied by then-Gov. Cuomo.
Millionaires fled the Big Apple in droves during the coronavirus pandemic’s early days, a 2023 study by the Fiscal Policy Institute found.
But while New York state lost 2,400 millionaires between during the first three years of COVID, it also “gained 17,500 millionaires in the same period due to a strong economy and rising wages,” the study states.
Those high earners also tended to move to other high tax states such as California, Connecticut and New Jersey, the study found.
“When high earners do move, they are more like to move to another high tax state than to a low tax state, indicating that taxes are relatively low on the list of motivating factors in high earners’ moving decisions,” the study states.
