Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed taxes for people with second homes in New York City worth $5 million or more, is raising questions over how much will ultimately be collected due to the way the city assesses the value of those uber expensive properties.<\/p>\n
The owners of New York’s ultra-luxury apartments pay relatively little in real estate taxes. High-rise condos purchased for tens of millions are routinely assessed for a tiny fraction of their market value, which could complicate Gov. Kathy Hochul’s hopes to tax the homes of non-residents, worth more than $5 million. It’s a plan she announced last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We’re talking about people who are ultra-wealthy,” Hochul said.<\/p>\n But under the city’s current assessment formula, even President Donald Trump’s apartment in Trump Tower would avoid the tax because it’s assessed at just $2.7 million.<\/p>\n Experts say the market value is irrelevant.<\/p>\n “State law requires the Department of Finance, for tax assessment purposes, to value co-ops and condos as if they were rentals,” said Ben Williams of Rosenberg & Estis.<\/p>\n In a video last week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised the governor’s plan.<\/p>\n “This pied-\u00e0-terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich,” Mamdani said in the video.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, he admitted it’s a work in progress.<\/p>\n “Part of the conversation around the administering of it is also to tackle the longstanding chasm between stated values and assessed values,” he said.<\/p>\n The questions were first raised by the online news outlet, The City.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Gov. Hochul called out Trump and his New York City apartment.<\/p>\n “Trump claims this apartment is worth $200 million. Rest assured, these are exactly the kinds of properties that will be taxed,” Hochul said.<\/p>\n Steve Fulop leads the city’s most influential business group, Partnership for New York City.<\/p>\n “It’s going to raise relatively little dollars, and they, themselves, say that most assessments won’t qualify for it,” Fulop said. “So, if that’s the end outcome, then why do it?”<\/p>\n The tax is supposed to raise $500 million in annual revenue, but that won’t happen unless state lawmakers come up with a new way to measure the value of New York’s ultra-luxury real estate.<\/p>\n ———- Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/p>\n
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