NYC Mayor Mamdani says wealthy exodus over high taxes is ‘imagined’ problem
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed Wednesday that threats by the city’s wealthiest residents to leave the city over high taxes are “imaginary.”
Mamdani held a meeting Tax Day public forum with economists Gabriel Zucman and Joseph Stiglitz to discuss plans to impose more taxes on the wealthy, starting with a new tax on luxury properties worth $5 million or more.
“For all the discussion about immigration that was supposed to happen if we taxed the wealthiest New Yorkers the appropriate amount — I say fantasy because I was a state legislator before I became mayor and I was part of the effort to raise taxes on millionaires at the time — we were told the same thing then — and what we find now is that even after we passed that tax, we have more millionaires today than we did then,” Mamdani said.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a Tax Day forum on Wednesday to discuss the new property tax. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mamdani acknowledged that New York City has lost many of its residents in recent years, noting that the city lost 200,000 Black residents between 2000 and 2020. But he claimed this was an “exodus” of working class people who could no longer afford to live here.
“And for all this talk of imaginary immigration, we have to take into account the real immigration that we’re seeing in the city, the immigration of working-class people, the immigration of people who can’t afford to live here and the many people who work here and are now residing in Jersey City or Connecticut or Pennsylvania, anywhere their dollars can go a little further,” Mamdani said. he said.
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During the forum, Mamdani also highlighted past campaign goals such as free buses, universal child care and five city-run grocery stores.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed increasing taxes for more social programs. (Angelina Katsanis / AP)
While Mamdani was able to launch a universal child care program within his first 100 days in office, he has yet to implement plans for free buses or a city-run grocery store. The first of the proposed grocery stores is currently scheduled to open in late 2027.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
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Mamdani’s comments were in stark contrast to earlier comments by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who encouraged wealthy former state residents to return and support social programs.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (left) had previously suggested that the state needed wealthy residents, contrary to Mamdani’s claim. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alejandro Granadillo/AP)
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“Some patriotic millionaires have come forward. OK, cut me the checks. If you want to support – but maybe the first step should be: [to] Go to Palm Beach and see who you can bring back home because our taxes are lowered,” Hochul said last month.
