politics
NYC Mayor Removes Property Tax Increase From $124.7 Billion Budget
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released an executive budget for fiscal year 2027 that closes a $5.4 billion gap without raising property taxes on most owners. The plan relies on $4 billion in state support, a new tax on expensive second homes, and agency savings. Officials said the budget avoids service cuts after months of negotiations with state leaders.
May 13, 8:12 AM·3m read3 sources
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled a $124.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 that closes a projected $5.4 billion gap without raising property taxes on most property owners. The mayor had threatened a broad property tax increase for months as leverage to secure more funding from Albany but walked back that proposal in the executive budget.
Mamdani said the administration first narrowed an inherited fiscal gap of more than $12 billion to $5.4 billion through savings measures and updated revenue projections. The revised plan then uses additional state support and agency efficiencies to balance the budget entirely without tapping reserves or imposing widespread tax hikes.
“This budget does not raise property taxes and it refuses to slash services,” Mr. Mamdani said at a Tuesday press conference. That hike was framed as a last resort if state leaders declined to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and most profitable corporations.
The executive budget instead relies on a mix of state support and targeted new revenue. State leaders helped secure $4 billion in state support, including $352 million in direct aid, $3.2 billion in state authorizations such as pension liability restructuring, and $500 million in new revenue through a pied-à-terre tax on second homes valued above $5 million.
The pied-à-terre tax applies to non-primary residences at that valuation threshold and represents one of the mayor’s signature revenue measures. New York City’s comptroller has cautioned that realistic annual receipts may fall between $340 million and $380 million after accounting for behavioral changes among affected property owners.
The administration achieved $1.77 billion in gap-closing savings across city agencies, partly through Chief Savings Officers appointed at every department under an executive order. One element of the plan reduces a personal income tax credit for filers making more than $142,000 a year who are also subject to the city’s unincorporated business tax, generating $68 million annually.
