The price tag for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s sweeping progressive agenda could be staggering, and taxpayers in the Big Apple may soon feel the impact if he wins next month’s election.
The Democratic socialist has proposed billions of dollars in new spending, including for housing, social services and new city departments. Among his most ambitious ideas is universal childcare, which his campaign estimates could cost $6 billion a year, the New York Times reported.
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Mamdani has also proposed $788 million annually to freeze transit fares and make all city buses free, along with $726 million a year to upgrade schools with heating, cooling and solar panels, according to his campaign.
Other initiatives include $455 million to create a “Department of Community Safety,” $165 million for “immigration legal defense services,” $315 million for public school renovations over ten years and committing 0.5% of the city’s budget to libraries, according to the Mamdani campaign.
Mamdani makes the argument that New York City, with a nearly $116 billion budget, has room to direct funding toward his proposals.
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He also intends to raise taxes on New York City’s wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations, aiming to generate about $10 billion annually through new taxes and what his campaign describes as “smart governance” reforms.
The plan includes raising the top corporate tax rate to 11.5%, which the campaign says would bring in $5 billion annually. It also includes adding a 2% income tax charge on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million a year, which is expected to generate another $4 billion.
Beyond tax increases, Mamdani’s campaign claims it could raise nearly $1 billion through hiring additional auditors, collecting outstanding fines and by making city contracting more efficient.
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“We know that our plan will work because New York City has a $1.3 trillion economy, and it can afford to support a stronger public sector. Our tax base is stable and growing, with new millionaires minted every year,” the Mamdani campaign states. “But New York City taxes everyone at the same rate, regardless of whether you make $50,000 a year or $5 million. And our state corporate tax rate is lower than all our neighboring states — New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Rhode Island, and even New Hampshire.”
Critics have warned that Mamdani’s agenda could accelerate the flight of high earners and businesses already leaving the city for lower-tax states like Florida.
Earlier this week, fellow New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo sharply criticized the economic platform of Mamdani, warning that it would push more wealthy residents and businesses out of the city.
“When he says raise the state corporate rate 2%, it would be the same as New Jersey – that’s misleading. If you raise the state 2%, the state rates would be the same, but the city has an additional tax, so New York City would be about double the New Jersey corporate tax, and you would see a flight to New Jersey,” Cuomo, the former governor of New York, said in an appearance on FOX Business Network’s “The Claman Countdown.” “Unprecedented.”
“He’s proposing doubling the corporate tax and then the 2% on the high-earners wouldn’t make you $7 billion either. And again, would exacerbate the problem that we’re seeing now, which is flight from New York City by high-income earners,” Cuomo said.
Zohran Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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