New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed a 9.5% property tax increase on Tuesday as part of his plan for the city’s “preliminary budget.” Mamdani said the tax hike was necessary to offset a $5.4 billion budget shortfall in the city due to the financial mismanagement by previous administrations. Mamdani’s tax hike proposal comes months after his mayoral campaign focused on affordability issues and lowering the cost of living.
As part of his $127 billion city budget proposal for fiscal 2027, which begins in July, he described the property tax increase as a “last resort,” predicated on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s refusal (D-NY) to implement a tax hike on affluent New Yorkers and corporations. Mamdani emphasized the proposed property tax increase could be avoided if Hochul agreed to taxing the wealthy.
“Today, I’m releasing the City’s preliminary budget,” Mamdani posted on X. “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,” Mamdani said.
“The first path matches a structural crisis with a sustainable and fair solution. I know where I stand,” Mamdani 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.”
If approved, it would be the first property tax increase in New York City since 2003, according to reports.
Hochul and other Democrats blasted Mamdani’s idea, saying she didn’t think it was “necessary.”
“I’m not supportive of a property tax increase,” Hochul said at a press conference in New York City. “I don’t know that that’s necessary, but let’s find out what is really necessary to close that gap.”
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin also criticized the idea, emphasizing that such a thing should not even be considered. Menin and City Council Member Linda Lee, the council’s finance committee chairwoman, released a statement dismissing the idea, Politico reported.
“At a time when New Yorkers are already grappling with an affordability crisis, dipping into rainy day reserves and proposing significant property tax increases should not be on the table whatsoever,” read the joint statement.
Mamdani would need City Council approval to make his proposed property tax increase a reality, should it come to that point.
Mamdani administration officials reported that the proposed tax hike would generate an additional $3.7 billion in revenue, the New York Daily News reported. However, it is also believed that such an increase would disproportionately affect black neighborhoods in New York City.
Citizens Budget Commission, a self-described “nonpartisan, nonprofit civic organization whose mission is to achieve constructive change in the finances and services of New York City and New York State government,” dismissed Mamdani’s proposal and criticized the rationale behind it.
“Mayor Mamdani’s preliminary budget proposes a false choice: either the state raises personal income and business taxes, or the city raises property taxes and saps money from reserves, including those to protect New Yorkers from a recession,” said Andrew Rein, president of the CBC. “The best choice is to eliminate spending that does not improve New Yorkers’ lives and make government more efficient and effective.”
