Mayor Mamdani is a demagogue. He said he wanted to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for “war crimes” though he knew he had no power to do so. Then, he backed down.
Mamdani is a mountebank. He appeared for a photo-op outside the residence of billionaire Ken Griffin to showcase his new “pied-à-terre” tax, painting a target on Griffin’s back and compromising his security. Griffin almost aborted his project to construct a billion-dollar office building in the city.
New York is the costliest city in the United States, with a cost of living roughly 120-130% above the national average. But Mamdani forgets it is all the more costly because of taxes and tolls.
There is a city income tax, and a property tax; that should be enough. But there is also a “mansion tax” imposed on buyers of properties valued in excess of $1 million.
A mayor should want to encourage tourism. In addition to a 4.375% sales tax, a New York City hotel stay is subject to a combined city tax rate of roughly 15% plus a $3.50 “unit fee” of $1.50 per night. I recently stayed in a New York City hotel. A room charge of $1,580 was costly enough before taxes and fees totaling $166.
Gasoline is said to be inflated with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The average price of a gallon of gas at the pump in New York City ranges from approximately $3.69 to $4.20 per gallon. Loaded into the price is a federal excise tax of 18.4¢, New York State taxes of roughly 33.3¢, a Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (supporting the MTA) Regional tax of 0.375¢ to 0.75¢ and a surcharge for New York City of 16¢ to 19¢ (4.5%) applied to the retail price. The total tax load could be as high as 10%.
New York residents and businesses pay several dedicated regional taxes and fees that directly fund the MTA. More than half of the MTA’s operating budget comes from these public tax subsidies and dedicated revenue streams rather than just rider fares.
Tolls around the city are ubiquitous. Crossing the Triborough Bridge costs $7.46; the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, linking Staten Island and Brooklyn, costs as much as $10. The two NYC tunnels charge $6.55. Other bridges are $3.65. The “congestion tax” in Manhattan for a standard passenger vehicle entering the Central Business District is $9. I learned from a distinguished lawyer versed in New York City economics that there is no difference between a tax and a toil. A toll simply cons the taxpayer into the belief he is getting a service in return for his money.
In approaching the city budget, Mamdani compromises public safety as he moves towards his pet goal of defunding the police. Police headcount is roughly the same as it was 25 years ago on 9/11 and the city’s population has increased from 8 to 8.5 million in the interim.
Mamdani reached agreement on July 1 with the City Council on a $125.8 billion budget. Andrew Rein, president of the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission, whom I interviewed on my CUNY TV talk show “Conversations with Jim Zirin,” has observed that the city has a structural budget problem and argues that the new budget does not solve it.
Not to worry. Mamdani will solve it all with a “tax on the rich,” a solution sure to shrink the tax base as the largest taxpayers move to Florida. We surely live in a “wonderful town.”
Zirin, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, hosts a show on CUNY TV.