New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has unveiled a new tax Wednesday targeting the city’s wealthiest residents, part of an effort to follow through on his democratic socialist campaign promises. Rather than taxing them directly, the proposal focuses on affluent New Yorkers who no longer live in the city but still own property there, as many fled amid concerns about being taxed to death by the city's first socialist mayor.
BREAKING: Mamdani announces new tax on all property worth over $5 million if the owner doesn’t live in NYC full time pic.twitter.com/qN7pU3xEDg
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 15, 2026
"When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich," Mamdani said Wednesday. "Well today, we're taxing the rich."
"I'm thrilled to announce we've secured a pied-à-terre tax, the first in New York's history," he said. "This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million, whose owners do not live full-time in the city. Like for this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million. This pied-à-terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich, those who store their wealth in New York City real estate, but who don't actually live here. But even so, they're able to reap the huge financial rewards of owning property in, dare I say, the greatest city in the world."
"And most of the time, these units are sitting empty, since again, they don't actually live here," he added. "This is a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working New Yorkers. Now, it's coming to an end. This tax will raise at least $500 million directly for the city. It'll help fund things like free child care, cleaner streets, and safer neighborhoods. As mayor, I believe everyone has a role to play in contributing to our city. And some, a little bit more than others. Happy Tax Day, New York."
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Critics blasted the move, as Mamdani appeared to treat Tax Day less as a day Americans dread and more as an occasion to celebrate paying taxes.
"If someone wants to buy a $5M apartment and leave it empty, that’s their property, their choice—not yours to prey on because you need more revenue for failing socialist experiments," the American Libertarian Party's official X account wrote.
"Every time you 'tax the rich,' capital flees, property values drop, construction halts, jobs vanish, and the tax base shrinks. We’ve seen it in city after city. The ultra-wealthy don’t stay and pay—they leave. The middle class gets stuck with the bill. The empty luxury units you hate will stay empty longer because you made ownership toxic. This 'progressive' tax is proof that socialists like you view citizens as ATMs, not free individuals."
If someone wants to buy a $5M apartment and leave it empty, that’s their property, their choice—not yours to prey on because you need more revenue for failing socialist experiments.
— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) April 15, 2026
You’re not funding “free” child care. You’re laundering millions through the same bloated…
Other critics of the tax argue that its projected revenue is little more than wishful thinking, as wealthy residents can simply purchase less expensive units or opt to rent to avoid it. It remains to be seen whether Mamdani can truly pin down the city’s wealthiest residents, who so far have proven adept at sidestepping his efforts to tax them.
Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.
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