Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett warned Tuesday that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is floating tax ideas that would push companies out of the city.
Mamdani’s tax plan runs headlong into state control over New York City taxation, requiring approval from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislature for any city-specific increases, backing he lacks after Hochul rejected higher income taxes on the wealthy in 2024, amid legal concerns over proposals that would target taxpayers based on race. Jarrett said on “The Evening Edit” that Mamdani would drive businesses out of New York City by pushing taxes so high they become punitive and uneconomic.
“He can try to raise the rate even higher, impose it on out-of-state corporations if he can establish a nexus, but they may just stop doing business in New York because at some point it becomes punitive. It becomes uneconomic for corporations,” Jarrett told host Elizabeth MacDonald. “And, you know, the Big Apple has already lost 5,000 businesses last year alone, mostly because of high taxes. So Mandani just wants to make it worse.”
Jarrett added that Mamdani overstates the city’s legal authority to tax businesses and misrepresents how New York’s corporate tax structure actually works.
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“There has to be what the law calls an economic nexus. So he’s overstating his ability, and he’s also got his facts wrong. I mean, the 7.5% rate he quotes, that’s the state corporate tax. But as mayor, he has no control over that. The legislature does it, the governor. But he also forgets you have to add in the city tax of 8.85%,” Jarrett said. “So, you know, do a little math, you’ve got 16%. That’s the highest in the nation, already higher than New Jersey’s 11%, which he quotes. So, you know, he’s got his facts wrong.”
The New York State Constitution requires New York City to pass a balanced budget annually and caps city borrowing at 10% of total real estate value, leaving taxation and debt firmly under state control even as Hochul proposed a $12 billion, two-year increase to the city’s debt limit that remains unresolved. Mamdani could reallocate existing funds with City Council approval but still lacks authority over taxes and borrowing, despite retaining the ability to advance parts of his agenda without state action.
During his campaign, Mamdani pushed to raise taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses, including proposing higher property taxes in what his campaign describes as “richer and whiter” areas of the city. Mamdani said the plan would rebalance an unfair tax system and generate revenue for his broader policy agenda. (RELATED: Gregg Jarrett Calls Don Lemon A ‘Dope’ Who Doesn’t Know Most Important Part About Right To Protest)
“It is not driven by race. It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being undertaxed versus overtaxed,” Mamdani said. “The focus here is to actually ensure a fair property tax system.”
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