NYC Mayoral Frontrunner Zohran Mamdani Boasts About Plan to Tax ‘Whiter’ Neighborhoods at Higher Rates
AP Photo/Heather Khalifa
New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani boasted on his campaign website about his plan to tax “whiter” neighborhoods at higher rates at a higher clip.
In a policy memo entitled “Stop the Squeeze on NYC Homeowners,” Mamdani promises to address a “deeply inequitable system, using the full power of the mayor’s office to both address the system directly and working with legislators at the state level to win necessary reforms” by “shift[ing] the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.”
He goes on to argue:
The property tax system is unbalanced because assessment levels are artificially capped, so homeowners in expensive neighborhoods pay less than their fair share. The Mayor can fix this by pushing class assessment percentages down for everyone and adjusting rates up, effectively lowering tax payments for homeowners in neighborhoods like Jamaica
and Brownsville while raising the amount paid in the most expensive Brooklyn brownstones.
According to the New York City Department of Finance website, the assessed values of family homes in the city cannot increase by more than 6% per year or 20% over a five-year period.
The proposal has drawn quite a bit of attention online, just days after Mamdani pulled off an upset win against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the city’s Democratic primary.
“Zohran Mamdani – Democrats’ socialist candidate for New York Mayor – wants to shift taxes to ‘whiter neighborhoods.’ This is the face of the Democrat party.” declared the Republican National Committee’s Research account on X.
“Wow. Not only an antisemite and communist… but a full-blown racist against ‘whiter neighborhoods.’ Yep – Mamdani is totally the roadmap for winning elections, guys. Keep going with that one,” mused Fox News’ Joe Concha.
“Here we go. Zohran proposing taxing people more based on race. Specifically white people,” observed Democratic commentator Brianna Wu. “Love that this man is going to represent Democrats nationally in the public mind. This is going to go well.”
Mamdani is the heavy favorite in the race for Gracie Mansion featuring incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who’s running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
