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In 2013, the New York City budget was finalized at $70 billion. In 2026, Mamdani proposed a budget of $127 billion, an 81% increase from 2013. This includes a $5.4 billion dollar budget gap, which will increase to $7 billion in the next year. Mamdani’s solution? Raise taxes.  

Mamdani has put forth two plans to deal with the massive budget deficit:  

  • First proposal would see the Albany raise the corporate and individual income tax rate to 2% for individuals making over $1 million dollars   
  • The Second proposal is to raise the property taxes in New York City by 9.5%   

Both choices have been met with backlash from Albany and NYC City Council.  

The First Option is viewed as making upstate New York pay for the follies of New York City. Increasing the income tax statewidewould put an unwanted burden on upstate New Yorkers by forcing them to pay for a situation they did not create, and for a mayor they did not elect. It is an overreach of Mamdani’s power to expect the rest of the state to cover New York City’s bill.  

The Second option is not wanted by anyone. A 9.5% increase on property taxes would not only give businesses more of a reason to leave New York City, but it would also hurt working New Yorkers the hardest. It could affect more than 3 million single-family homes, condos, and over 100,000 commercial buildings, an unsustainable policy that would ruin the city. Mamdani says that this option could raise $3.7 billion for the cities’ deficit, but that still leaves another $1.7 billion unaccounted.  

Governor Hochul has already said she would assist New York City by providing $1.5 billion in state funds for the next two years:$1 billion in 2026, and $500 million in 2027. However, she stressed that Mamdani needs to make cuts where they can be made.While the $1.5 billion is already more than Albany should be doing for New York City, Mamdani is still not satisfied with the money he is receiving.  

Mamdani’s ultimatum holds New Yorkers hostage in a spree to waste more money.  

Mamdani’s campaign ran on a platform of returning affordability to New York City, but an increase on property taxes would do just the opposite. Even many NYC Democrats have come out against the idea, such as the City Comptroller Marke Levine, who remarked that property taxes are a highly regressive and disproportionately affect poorer communities more than wealthierones.  

These two options put forward by Mamdani do not take into consideration the most obvious option to fix a deficit: spend less money.  

If New York wants to get out of its fiscal deficit, then Mamdani must commit to cutting costs where needed. Identifying areas where budget cuts can be made and committing to austerity measures is the only way to pull New York out of this deficit.  

While Mamdani tries to hold New Yorkers’ hostage, it is important that Albany stands up to his absurd policies and say no to his tax hikes.