New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described “democratic socialist” who took office earlier this year, has proposed raising the state’s top estate tax rate from 16% to 50%. He also suggested slashing the exemption threshold by nearly 90%, from $7 million to $750,000. Zohran is a radical Islamist doing the work of communism under the more euphemistic label “democratic socialist.”
The proposal was included among nearly a dozen potential revenue-raising ideas that Mamdani’s office circulated in a memo in recent weeks to state lawmakers negotiating the state budget. Mamdani is facing a $5.4 billion city budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and is seeking help from the state legislature in raising money to close the gap, Bloomberg News reports.
It would never occur to him to cut waste.
No other jurisdiction in the USA confiscates wealth at death from people with this size estate. Anyone with any equity in a home in NYC would most often exceed $750,000. He wants to destroy inheritance for the middle class.
There is a federal estate tax (death) on estate wealth exceeding $15 million (for individuals) and $30 million (for couples). However, you can deduct other state and city estate taxes before paying the federal estate tax. So effectively, Mamdani is preventing the federal government from taxing estates; NYC and NY State are taking it all first.
He is looking to destroy the concept of inheritance, an important tenet of Americanism.
New York City Is Forced to Rely on Gov. Hochul and Democrats
The legislature won’t support it for now. We have to rely on Gov. Kathy Hochul and a one-party Democrat legislature to not be fleeced. Hochul was nothing but a clerk elevated to governor because she obeys the far left.
In August 2022, Hochul told the state’s Republicans this week—all 5.4 million of them: “Just jump on a bus and head down to Florida, where you belong, OK?” she said. “You are not New Yorkers.”
Hochul now admits the state’s punishing taxes and high costs are driving wealthy residents straight out the door. Suddenly, she is concerned about the big government programs.
She wants the people who escaped to Palm Beach to return!
“I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state,” Hochul said. “Now, there are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up—okay, cut me the checks… But maybe the first step should be to go down to Palm Beach and see if we can bring them back home. Because our tax base has been eroded.”
She blamed remote work for breaking New York’s grip: “Remote work changed everything. There are people who can only work in an office in Manhattan or work in New York State—they were captives to our state… We saw that it’s not the case anymore. You know, Wall Street businesses looking at Texas… going there because of the tax.”
Hochul rejected calls for broad tax hikes on the rich, warning it would accelerate the exodus. “Be smart about this,” she urged. “What can fund what we want to fund with what we already are taking…”
She is a liar. If you can leave New York, get out while you can. No Democrat can be trusted. They have been seduced by the far left.