Gov. Hochul rips Zohran Mamdani's tax on rich, admits costs are pushing NYers to ‘Palm Beach'
Gov. Kathy Hochul shut down Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's plan to hike taxes on some New Yorkers — as she admitted high costs were pushing residents to move out of state.
Hochul was asked in a TV interview if she backed Mamdani's plan to tax wealthy New Yorkers and up the corporate tax and flatly replied, 'No.'
'I'm not raising taxes at at time where affordability is the big issue,' Hochul told PIX 11.
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3 NY Gov. Kathy Hochul says she will not raise taxes on the wealthy in an interview with Pix 11.
Gabriella Bass
Mamdani has said he would impose a 2% income tax on Big Apple residents who make more than $1 million a year and inflate the corporate tax from 7.25% to 11.5%, the same as New Jersey.
'I don't want to lose any more people to Palm Beach,' she said. 'We've lost enough.'
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Mamdani is polling second in the crowded Democratic primary for mayor and has been closing the gap with the frontrunner, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani has campaigned on promises of rent freezes on rent-controlled apartments, free buses and city-owned grocery stores.
3 Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani's tax plan hinges on collaboration with Albany to get expenses and tax hikes approved.
Paul Martinka
His plan to pay for it all relies on the very tax Hochul said she's not biting on, but he can't do it without Albany's approval.
'Let's be smart about this,' she said.
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Many skeptics of the Queen's pol, who is now serving in the state Assemblyman, have highlighted the difficulty he will have in footing the bill for his promises.
A recent scathing Op-Ed by the New York Times Editorial Board said the socialist lawmaker's policy plans ignore the 'trade-offs' required when governing.
'Mr. Mamdani, who has called Mr. de Blasio the best New York mayor of his lifetime, offers an agenda that remains alluring among elite progressives but has proved damaging to city life,' the board said.
Fellow mayoral candidates Cuomo and Whitney Tilson have also jumped in to denounce Mamdani's financial plans on debate stages and in TV advertisements. At last week's debate, Cuomo asked Tilson, a former hedge fund manager, if the tax proposals laid out by Mamdani were feasible.
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3 Mamdani argues the state has desire to Increase taxes.
Paul Martinka
'This all has to go through Albany; there is no appetite for what he is calling for,' Tilson responded.
'(Even if it did pass) statewide, he's assuming that the legislature would just give it all (tax money) to New York City — that's truly delusional,' he argued.
Mamdani defended his plan following the debate.
'You can see in the budgets of both the (state) Assembly and the Senate, a desire to increase taxes on those who can afford it, to be able to pay for a better quality of life for everyone,' he told reporters.
A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to request for comment.
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