New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has threatened to implement a massive 9.5% hike in property taxes for all residents of the city if New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) does not raise taxes on the state’s wealthy. The move has led to widespread dismay even among liberals, as the levy would put an additional economic burden on middle- and lower-income residents who Mamdani promised to lift up during his election campaign.

The controversial 34-year-old mayor unveiled a preliminary $127 billion budget on Tuesday for the 2027 fiscal year, which would be an increase of $10 billion from 2026. The Wall Street Journal editorial board pointed out that the proposed budget would be $10 billion more than the entire state of Florida’s budget, despite the fact that “New York City’s population is only 40% of the Sunshine State’s.” Even though the city’s tax revenue has doubled since 2019, “tax collections haven’t kept pace with political spending and government-worker benefits.”

Mamdani claimed that the massive tax increase would be a last resort to account for an apparent $5 billion shortfall in his proposed budget. “We do not want to have to turn to such drastic measures to balance our budget,” he said. “But, faced with no other choice, we will be forced to.” But as the WSJ noted, no one is forcing Mamdani to squeeze NYC residents in order to fund “universal child care, free buses and other progressive dreams.” “Merely holding spending flat would eliminate this year’s deficit,” they emphasized.

NYC Democrats are roundly condemning the proposed tax hike. “This is absolutely a non-starter for me,” remarked Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. Comptroller Mark Levine characterized the proposal as “extreme.” Even leftist city council members like Nantasha Williams, a member of the progressive caucus, stated that the proposal was not “equitable.”

“To advance a tax increase without first addressing that inequity feels deeply tone-deaf to Black, Brown, and working-class homeowners like the families I represent in Southeast Queens who are already shouldering a disproportionate share of the property tax burden,” she said in a statement.

The WSJ board amplified Williams’s point by observing that Mamdani’s property tax scheme would “compound problems in the city’s multifamily housing market caused by state rent control. Hundreds of rent-stabilized buildings have defaulted in recent years, and many are selling at discounts upward of 60% from their purchase price.”

Mamdani’s spending agenda includes $100 billion on “affordable housing” over 10 years, $6 billion per year on universal child care, $800 million per year on free buses, and $60 million per year on city-run grocery stores. In order to raise the necessary funds, he called on Governor Hochul to raise income taxes on millionaires by 2% and hike the corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5%. But economists like Douglas Elliman’s Ben Jacobs say that sharp tax increases are highly risky and can cause losses in government revenue.

“Higher corporate and wealth taxes can trigger a chain reaction,” he underscored. “Reduced investment and relocation of high earners shrink the city’s tax base, which often indirectly affects middle-class households. Even if they aren’t the direct target, over time these economic ripples can influence affordability, property values and access to services.”

Real estate expert Michelle Griffith concurred, telling Fox Business, “In many cases, property tax increases are eventually absorbed by tenants, particularly in rent-stabilized or market-rate units where landlords factor operating costs into pricing. While the Mayor’s promise of ‘rent stability’ is admirable, history shows that higher property taxes can translate into incremental rent increases fairly quickly, sometimes within a year. Working families may end up feeling the impact, even if it’s not immediate.”

Mamdani’s tenure as mayor has gotten off to a rocky start, as a pattern of anti-Semitism continues to pervade his administration. A series of anti-Semitic tweets from staff members continue to surface, with NYC Office of Mass Engagement staffer Álvaro López tweeting in 2023 that those who tore down posters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas were “heroes.” Another longtime city health department staffer stated in a 2021 tweet, “1 Israeli left in this world would be one too many!” Mamdani’s office has declined to fire both staffers. Mamdani himself also ran away from a reporter last week who asked him about his relationship with Kaif Gilani, a former Mamdani campaign booster who shared posts in 2024 and 2025 “that spread conspiracy theories about Jews being responsible for 9/11 and glorified Hamas.”