Mamdani finds new ally in bid to slap New York City’s rich with eye-watering taxes

Tax hikes that Socialist Democratic New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on appear poised to come to fruition, despite Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s vow not to raise taxes.

The Democratic-dominated New York State Assembly on Monday night released a budget proposal including several policies championed by the left-wing big Apple mayor, including corporate tax increases and an income tax increase for wealthy New Yorkers, New York Focus reported.

Mamdani has called for increasing both New York’s corporate tax rate and placing a 2% tax on New York City’s highest earners in order to pay for his various proposed expensive social programs, such as “fast and free” buses, city-run grocery stores, and taxpayer-subsidized childcare.

The final budget will require Hochul’s approval, with the current budget deadline set for April 1, Gothamist reported.

New York already consistently ranks among the highest-taxed states in the nation, even without these proposed increases taken into consideration.

Are your state’s #tax rates heavy or light? See how you stack up against the rest of the U.S. here:https://t.co/D2g6qzGLPB #TaxDay #IRS pic.twitter.com/yLPdMqw0n6

— WalletHub (@wallethub) March 3, 2026

Meanwhile, Hochul, in her January State of the State address, in January said, “[W]e can make transformative investments in our future without raising taxes, without saddling the next generation with mountains of debt.”

“I will cut income taxes instead. That’s how I’m going to keep people here,” the governor said in March 2025, according to Politico.

Hochul and Mamdani have had a tenuous history dating back to Mamdani’s successful 2025 mayoral bid, during which the governor held off endorsing him until nearly three months after he won the Democratic mayoral primary. Mamdani, in return, declined to back Hochul’s 2026 reelection bid until finally endorsing her in February

Hochul’s and Mamdani’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Democratic New York State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris backs the state legislature’s proposal, telling reporters on Tuesday, “We have more millionaires today in New York than we’ve ever had,” WTEN, an Albany-based ABC affiliate, reported.

“What we have a lot less of is non-millionaires. And the reason we have less of that is that it’s too expensive to live here,” Gianaris added.

Notably, Mamdani’s predecessor, former Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, appeared to criticize his successor’s policies in a January Facebook post.

“When you promise ‘free’ everything on Sunday, boldly declare that millionaires and billionaires shouldn’t exist on Monday, and by Tuesday you’re scrambling to fund your giveaways with the very people you wanted gone just yesterday,” the former mayor wrote at the time.

A significant number of New Yorkers have left the state in recent years, with many citing the state’s high cost of living and others its lofty taxes, The New York Post reported in February. As a result of this exodus, New York is expected to lose two House seats after the 2030 census, according to a recent study by Redistricting Network.

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