ALBANY — Mayor Zohran Mamdani told state lawmakers on Wednesday that the only way out of the city’s $12 billion budget gap is to raise taxes on the wealthy.
Hizzoner, during his first Tin Cup Day in Albany, formally called on the state Legislature to raise income taxes on people making more than $1 million by 2%.
“I’m asking for a 2% raise in personal income taxes on the most affluent New Yorkers, someone earning $1 million a year. The top 1% of New York City can afford to contribute $20,000 more in taxes,” the young mayor said.
“That 2% tax alone would resolve nearly half of our budget deficit. I will continue to advocate for these policies not only because they offer the most direct route out of this budget crisis, but because they will also transform what is possible in our state.”
The tax hike would be an addition to his campaign pledge to push the state to increase the corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5%, the mayor said.
Mamdani said he and his team have been able to shrink the gap, but the budget is nowhere near balanced.
The new admin has been able to cut the $12 billion shortfall — $2 billion in this current fiscal year and another $10 billion in next year’s — to $7 billion, according to the mayor, who pointed to an “aggressive” savings.
Mamdani conceded that revenue as well as end-of-year bonuses came in much higher than projected — a point raised by a number of critics accusing the young mayor of exaggerating the deficit.
The Democratic socialist also complained that the city generates more revenue for the state than it receives back in funding.
