Every proposal, what it does, who it affects, and how it impacts you.
From city-level taxes NYC can enact to state-level asks requiring Albany.
Earn $1M+? NYC income tax rate goes up 2 percentage points. Doesn't touch anyone earning less.
Finance firms: 9%→10.8%. Others: 8.85%→10.62%. Taxed on NY sales, not office location.
Rate rises 4%→4.4% only for businesses with income over $5M.
LLC/S-corp passthrough credit drops from 100% to 75%.
1% extra annual tax on residential properties worth $5M+.
1% on cash-only purchases over $1M.
Tax on residential property sales over $5M.
Remove sales tax exemption on bullion/coins over $1K. Split: $300M NYC, $601M state.
Higher NYS corporate brackets, 75% passthrough credit cap, tighter rules on overseas income.
State surcharge on capital gains over $500K/year.
Exemption drops from $7.1M to $750K. Top rate rises from 16% to 50%.
Money the state has taken away or forced the city to cover. All originate at the state level.
| Program | Plain English | Source | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTA — $480M | |||
| Paratransit cost shift | State pushing Access-A-Ride costs onto the city | State | $300M |
| Internet sales tax intercept | State keeping online sales tax that used to go to NYC | State | $180M |
| Health & Human Services — $1.5B | |||
| eFMAP withholding | State withholding enhanced federal Medicaid funds | State federal $ withheld by state | $343M |
| H+H cost shift | Disallowed indigent care claims at public hospitals | State | $57M |
| Foster care tuition | Eliminated reimbursement for foster children's education | State | $44M |
| TANF reimbursement cut | Welfare reimbursement cut from 100% to 85% | State TANF is federal, admin by state | $193M |
| Advantage Program cut | Reduced homeless-to-housing transition funding | State | $65M |
| Adult shelter cap | State capped shelter reimbursement | State | $500M |
| Foster care/adoption | NYC pays max rates with no state help | State | $263M |
| Public Protection — $40M | |||
| Close to Home eliminated | Cut community-based juvenile justice funding | State | $40M |
| Revenue Sharing — $302M | |||
| AIM funding eliminated | NYC is the only eligible municipality that gets zero | State | $302M |
| Total annual cost to NYC | $2.3B | ||
Each proposal has a case for and against. Here they are, side by side.
Only hits income above $1M — doesn't touch anyone earning less. NYC millionaires already pay ~41% of the city's entire income tax bill. Massachusetts passed a similar 4% surtax and it dramatically beat revenue projections.
Requires Albany approval — the mayor can't do this alone. NYC already has the highest combined city+state income tax in the country. Millionaires are the most mobile taxpayers and can relocate to Florida or Connecticut.
NY uses single-sales-factor apportionment — companies pay based on what they sell to NY customers, not where offices are. Moving HQ to Texas doesn't change the tax bill. 75% of corporate tax comes from ~500 companies with captive NY customer bases.
Even if the tax follows sales, companies can grow headcount elsewhere. JPMorgan already employs more people in Texas than New York. The city collects the business tax but quietly loses the well-paid employees whose income taxes are worth more.
Only affects businesses reporting over $5M in income — your neighborhood accountant or small contractor pays nothing extra. A modest 0.4 percentage point increase on the very highest earners in an already-existing tax.
Wealthy business owners have accountants who can restructure — by incorporating, shifting income, or relocating. Piles onto all other tax increases hitting business owners simultaneously. Actual revenue may fall well short of $250M.
The PTET credit was created to soften the 2017 federal SALT cap. Congress raised that cap to $40K in 2025, so the original justification for a 100% rebate has largely evaporated. Cutting to 75% is a reasonable adjustment.
The $40K SALT cap phases out entirely for earners over $600K — exactly the partners this targets. They get zero federal relief. And the SALT cap reverts to $10K in 2030, meaning a double hit in just a few years.
You can't move a townhouse to Florida. Real property is the hardest asset to shelter from a local tax. Only affects homes worth $5M+ — Park Avenue co-ops and Brooklyn Heights brownstones, not typical homeowners.
Once a property surcharge exists, it's easier to lower the threshold. Today's $5M floor could become tomorrow's $1M floor in the next budget crisis. There's already a separate 9.5% property tax hike sitting in reserve as a fallback.
All-cash purchases over $1M are often used to quietly move money without a mortgage paper trail. Adding a 1% fee creates transparency and revenue from transactions that currently face less scrutiny.
Many cash buyers are simply wealthy retirees or foreign investors — not money launderers. Stacking transfer taxes on top of existing fees can freeze the luxury market. LA's mansion tax raised only 32 cents on the projected dollar as sales collapsed.
NYC was the first city to create a mansion tax — in 1982. Graduated transfer taxes on luxury sales are a proven, low-drama revenue source used in 17+ U.S. cities. They target the very top of the market without affecting everyday sales.
Too many transaction taxes can freeze the market that generates them. Real estate deals create ripple effects — construction, broker commissions, renovation spending. Luxury buyers may sit on the sidelines or split properties to avoid thresholds.
There's no obvious reason gold bullion should be exempt from the same sales tax that applies to virtually everything else you buy. The exemption mostly benefits wealthy investors, not average consumers.
Buyers will simply purchase bullion online from out-of-state dealers or in neighboring states without the tax. Revenue projections assume behavior doesn't change — it almost certainly will. Enforcement is difficult.
Creates fairer brackets for NYS corporate taxes so the biggest corporations pay proportionally more. Tightens loopholes on overseas income sheltering (global intangible low-taxed income) that let multinationals shift profits offshore.
New York already has among the highest state corporate tax rates. Adding more brackets and tightening GILTI rules makes the state less competitive with states like Texas and Florida that have no corporate income tax at all.
Investment profits are taxed at lower rates than wages — a hedge fund manager making $10M in stock sales pays a lower rate than a nurse making $80K. This closes that gap at the state level. Washington State's version survived a voter repeal attempt.
Unlike a paycheck, you choose when to sell stocks. Wealthy investors can wait until they've moved to Florida, then sell. The $12B estimate assumes people behave as before — they won't. Washington's revenue fell 45% in year two from market volatility alone.
The moment of death is the one time wealthy families can't move money out of state. Currently NY only taxes estates over $7.1M — lowering to $750K with a 50% top rate captures more accumulated wealth and funds services for the living.
In New York, $750K can mean a modest family home plus a retirement account. This catches far more than the ultra-rich. New Jersey repealed its estate tax entirely in 2018 because wealthy retirees were fleeing to Florida — and NJ is right next door.
12 questions. We estimate whether these proposals cost you or benefit you.
Estimates only. Largest proposals need Albany. Revenue could be 30–60% lower. Scores = direct first-order impact.