New York City Comptroller Eric Lander has some ambitious and no doubt controversial plans to raise revenue for the Big Apple. In a report released this week, the Comptroller’s Office set forth a string of proposals to raise $1 billion a year, including hiking personal income tax for the top 1% of income earners, imposing a second home surcharge, and axing the no-tax deal on Madison Square Garden, which exempts the venue from taxation if it’s being used to host professional hockey and basketball games.
Mayor Eric Adams, however, did not subscribe to that plan, saying “If we are going to say, ‘Let’s just raise taxes on New Yorkers,’ if that’s the answer to our problem, I just don’t agree with that.”
Lander’s office, however, is adamant that these proposals are needed in a post-COVID world.
“A serious, long-term savings plan to address out-year budget gaps must be a part of that plan, but if the city is going to expand services to address concerns about affordability, and make new investments in shared economic thriving to address post-pandemic conditions, new revenues will be needed,” the report says.
Notably, though, the comptroller’s report acknowledges that any suggested tax hikes would “require statutory changes in Albany.” The hitch is that’s a move Kathy Hochul has already said she’s not willing to support, given the intense budget fight that subsided not long ago.
It’s clear that the city needs more bang in its bucks, but Lander is the only voice in the room clamoring for a tax hike.
