If New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gets his way, half of everything New Yorkers work a lifetime for – including their homes, their businesses or farms, and their savings – could be stripped away on their deathbeds.
No more Empire State; he’d make it the Expropriation State.
Only one thing in life is certain: We all die.
Mamdani is exploiting that certainty to close what he claims is a $5.4 billion city budget gap.
More than that, he aims to undermine the foundations of American life by attacking wealth accumulation, homeownership, and private property, per the radical agenda of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Currently, New York is one of a handful of states that imposes a death tax, a 16% levy on estates worth more than $7 million.
But last week, the tax wish list Mamdani circulated to state legislators and Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed lowering the threshold to a mere $750,000 – which would clobber millions more New Yorkers all across the state with a punishing tax.
He would also hike the rate to a whopping 50%, two and a half times the next highest rate – 20%, charged in Hawaii and Washington state.
The worst feature of Mamdani’s tax proposal is its built-in “cliff,” meaning that once an estate hits $750,000 in value, the confiscatory 50% rate applies to all assets, not just the amount above that figure.
Half the estate gets wiped out, and Albany steps in to take it.
Consider: The average home value in Westchester County right now is $823,340, while the median home price in Nassau County is a staggering $875,000.
Even assuming no other assets, the legacy of most Westchester and Nassau homeowners would fall into the tax collector’s hands.
Bruce Blakeman, Hochul’s Republican rival for governor in November, quickly pounced on the issue, calling it “the most extreme Death Tax in America.”
“Children will lose half the value of their parents’ home…and family businesses will have to be sold off just to pay this cruel tax,” he stated in a social media post.
Hochul herself, though, has been silent on Mamdani’s pitch.
And while it’s unlikely she’ll actively back something so radical, Mamdani has now injected the idea into the political conversation in Albany.
Mamdani’s outrageous 50% rate is just a first bid: You can bet that his allies in the leftist state legislature will impose some form of estate-tax hike soon.
You won’t hear Mamdani’s voters complaining – he’s the mayor of renters.
A majority of New Yorkers statewide – 51% – own their own homes, but in New York City, the figure is a mere 32%.
Mamdani swept into City Hall on a promise to freeze rents and increase government power over housing; the homeownership ideal, and the dream of passing your home and your prosperity to your kids, is antithetical to him and his democratic socialist compatriots.
Even a watered-down version of Mamdani’s proposal would devastate New York’s farming industry, 98% of which is made up of family farms.
The average net farm income is $76,281 – hardly even middle class – but, based on current land values, the majority of those farms would fall into the state’s clutches under Mamdani’s proposal.
The irony is, raising the estate tax would likely be a net revenue loser, costing the state tax dollars instead of increasing them.
Economists Enrico Moretti and Daniel J. Wilson have found that when states with high income-tax rates hike the estate tax as well, high earners flee, causing more loss of tax revenue than gain.
“You can either be progressive on income tax or be progressive on adopting an estate tax, but if you do both, it’s going to backfire,” they concluded.
The highest earners flee to death-friendlier states, simply to preserve family wealth.
Mamdani claims he’s pushing confiscatory taxes because he needs money to close the city’s budget gap.
New York City’s budget is larger than the budget of the state of Florida, which has nearly three times as many people.
Let him cut spending if he needs some breathing room.
Truth is, Mamdani and his DSA allies in the state legislature oppose private property and will use any pretext to confiscate it.
Don’t let these radicals, elected by urban voters who don’t care a whit about homeownership, small businesses, or family farming, destroy the lifetime dreams of millions of New Yorkers.
Whether you usually vote Republican or Democratic, it’s time to sound the alarm – before this un-American attack on property rights picks up any more steam.
Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and Chairman & Founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey.
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Voting “radicals” in with their promises and you get their “radical” solutions. Pray that it won’t continue to spread through the nation because if does, “goodbye” to this nation.
Fools who vote for democrats are voting for their own destruction. Unfortunately, their foolishness affects the rest of us as well.
Maggots like mamdani would steal the air that you breathe then charge you for it if he could figure out a way. Voters for free stuff never have to worry about who’s going to pay or how they’re going to do it, that’s left to crooked politicians to figure out who’s left to screw.
As I keep posting in response to articles about Mamdani…ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. Voters are getting EXACTLY what they voted for.
He is transforming NYC alright, smiling all the way, what will happen when transformation is completed, when there is no more to confiscate or steal it can be renamed Havana.
These unfair ideas about expropriation are contrary to the ideas of Life, Liberty,the pursuit of Happiness. Any politician in New York who is in favor of this junk should be required to move out of their home and live in tent somewhere. It would be appropriate for a mayor of New York City to set up a tent in Central Park .New York. Good article Betsy Mc Caughey !
Momdani is not only bad for New York he’s bad for America he gives other far left liberal Governors and Mayors ideas
PLEASE PARDON MY ENGLISH, BUT THE GUY IS A BLOODY THIEF AND HE WILL END UP BEING BUTCHERED BY THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK AND, I SAY, GOOD RIDDANCE.
You broke it, NYC. You pay for it.
Mandami is basically saying ” what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is my own.” If I was still in NY, I would be starting to pack my stuff.
We can definitely expect the acceleration of the exodus from NY.
If you are incapable of finding out what communism is about, then you are about to get an education.
Mamdani lied to become a citizen. His citizenship oath was and is a lie. He should be stripped of his citizenship and deported. Same with every other oath breaker in the country. You come here to undermine the country you shouldn’t be here!
I’m speechless ..stupid voters getting the shaft & taking the rest of the city to the pit of hell with them????
he is a danger to all New Yorkers the people there did not understand what they were getting
Why don’t these writers even mention the obvious C word in their articles about Mamdani’s ideas? All his principles are based on Communism. Let’s call it what it is. “Democratic Socialist” is just a phony label for a Communist.
Shame on the low-information voters who gave him power.
“Mamdani is exploiting that certainty to close what he claims is a $5.4 billion city budget gap.” Let’s be clear about that it is not “a $5.4 billion city budget gap.” It is $5.4 billion of Mamdani overspending over the approved limit, anywhere else we would call this what it truly is: THEFT! We need an Article V Convention of States to strip immunity based upon the fact of holding office from these thieves and fraudsters so they can experience what is direly needed “equality under the law.” Politicians and civil servants need to fall under the same laws as everyone else, and that includes activist judges. Government in any form in our country is currently out of control, time to fix this for America’s 250th.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT NEW YORKERS VOTED FOR.
The ahemm “voters” that allowed him to become Mayor are about to reap what they’ve sown. CUBA is going UP, while New York goes down!!
Glad I don’t live in NYC under Mamdani. Lucky for the residents of NYC most of his crazy ideas won’t come to pass, but sadly some will. Right now, Mamdani is New York City’s problem. What worries me however is how many other Mamdani’s are going to come out of the woodwork and spread his kind of craziness other places. If the Mamdani want to bees can be limited to the liberal cities that could be a good thing. These other liberal cities may need to experience a little of the lesson NYC is getting. I can’t wish such a thing on the people of even liberal cities, I’m not heartless! Besides the more Mamdani types that get elected the easier it will be for the next one. Common sense should stop someone from voting for a Mamdani type. It is the liberal vote that puts a Mamdani type in office, sadly liberal and common sense often is not found in the same person!
I live in California. We have a similar problem with our Governor NEWSCUM. He is the biggest thieving, lying, cheating, narcissist, psychopath wannabe king that Californians have ever had. It has been stated he’ll keep us taxed up to our eyeballs for years, even after he’s gone. He has his eyes on the presidency. Y’all better think twice before voting for him or you may end up with the same current problems as New York and California. We can not let this happen to OUR COUNTRY. Voting LEFT, and you’ll end up with nothing LEFT!
This mondumi maggot must be an implant from a country,or a consortium of countries on a path to destroy AMERICA from within.NYC is just a start,i’m sure that our enemies have more plans in the works.I see other states that have entities in control that want to rebuild AMERICA with illegals that they can control,Two that are obvious are California and Illinois.
OMG!!! What a true Communist! He didn’t let any grass grow under his feet, did he! First you get taxed to death, then he’s waiting in the wings for the person to pass away, with papers in hand to take away all of what that person worked for all his/her life. What about the deceased’s family or beneficiary? I guess that paperwork “doesn’t exist”.
Well folks it is truly frightening that some parts of America, including our biggest city, have come to this. Moreover, it is truly frightening that so many New Yorker’s are so ignorant that they have allowed themselves to be buffaloed by this low life anti American, anti Jewish, anti freedom tax and spend slimy scumbag.
Him and all like him need to be removed from America
As usual, the DIMMs want to penalize those who work and build and baby those who are leeches and takers! A couple works for years putting aside money for themselves and their children and some commie Islamist comes a long and wants to STEAL it to give to a bunch of bureaucrats and the leeches they support! Is he going to make his millionaire mommy and daddy pay or will there be some convenient loophole for them and their friends?
That’s a communist muslim for you. The state owns everything and it’s all the better to be taking from the infidels.
And just how much of that will ultimately end up in the hands of Marxist/Islamist terrorists right here in America or worse right in his pockets??
They the people of NY voted him in. They made their bed. But as a person pointed out, they could sign all of their assets over to their children before they pass. If the dying person has no assets there are none to collect. I have already put my son’s name on everything I own, that way when I am gone it is already his.
Dirt bags like Mamdani bankrupt their areas then steal from their constituents to try to recover from it. What happens to the money? It sure doesn’t go to the poor they create. It goes to the elite thieves. They are the new elite.
Move out f NY, (2) determine what protects wealth for what you choose, and do it. Screw him, the communist will eventually be out of the piocture.
No effen way! This is supposed to be America.
“Eventually, you run out of other people’s money.” Margaret Thatcher.
Does anyone know what his net worth is, or does he send everything back to his homeland where it can’t be touched by the taxes he wants to impose?
If this goes through NYS will lose all of its population that owns assets like property within its borders and just a whiff of that occurring has eliminated my personal goal to own property within NYS if my hard earned work to purchase and own is eliminated by something like this which does absolutely nothing to raise the financial self-efficiencies of those who depend of any benefits labeled government subsidies. I am not giving my hard earned purchases to the government especially NYS when I have never been given any benefits for all the taxes I have paid into the tax rolls. It is time in NYS to tell our local State Representatives that they need to work with a budget like we do instead of just creating programs to
spend more money on. Our SALT taxes are high enough and they need to pay attention to how the money is being spent because we, taxpayers of NYS, are tired of paying taxes and not seeing benefits from it. I didn’t vote for this and will certainly vote against this proposal
This is pure greed. Not to mention evil poured upon the grieving families this kind of thing needs to be abolished. Him and everyone like him should be removed from the United States of America
Has anyone started a recall movement for both the governor and the mayor? That is what needs to happen!
American people are not stupid or ignorant. So the election of this socialist communist proves that the demo-rats are committing BLATANT FRAUD.
They’ve voted like this for years and sadly will continue to do so. They just can’t figure it out.
Great job New Yorkers, you get what you vote for! LOL, suckers.
You knew his radical ideas would spread to the rest of the state…so glad we moved.
There IS a way to close his budget gap…stop SPENDING so much. And get rid of the FRAUD!
This is another policy to break the American spirit. That you can reach riches in this country. The communists like Mamdani in the democrat party don’t want the people to become rich because those people don’t vote for them. They are the thinking people who see right through the strategy Mamdani ran on. The renters the ones that like a government handout they voted him in. And the hard working opponents are being shafted to pay for them by accumulating wealth and being taxed 50% on that wealth when they did. While living they supported the illegals that walked into this country and demanded housing healthcare and an education. Now they are supporting these criminals by obstructing their deportation and killing the legal force that is protecting us from these criminals who are killing and raping our citizens. Only the democrats love these criminals and make the victims the perps. The democrats agenda is destroying this country starting with the people and the White Race especially to be eliminated. Either by breaking their finances or by outright killing them with a pandemic. A pandemic created by the Americans and the Chinese all over the world with the Covid. Another be his coming much worse than Covid. Bill Gates said that more than 5 years ago. But the masses have forgotten that by now. Everything that we said almost 20 years ago when Ivama became president has happened. When are the people who legally can vote in this country going to change that. When.
SAD
Mamdani and the Socialist Party, the Democratic Party, Marxist and all their allies are all thieves, liars, murders and dirt bags! What he or they are referring too in this case does not mean the elitists or for the ones imposing the law or rules cause they feel they are above the rest of us the average American citizen!
and this how socialist control looks like, and they voted for this?
Unfortunately, New York city got what they voted for. It is really sad. I was born in NY, but I no longer live there thank goodness. All of these new taxes are going to be paid indirectly statewide. So sad…
Voting a communist into office has it’s consequences.
Socialism….
The gateway to Communism.
He’s city mayor; so how can he propose state-wide laws?
We need to understand, Mamdani isn’t an outlier, a strictly New York phenomenon. As an immigrant (with stronger ties to Uganda than to America) he’s inexperienced enough to push ideas openly that most others of his party would be embarassed to advance, though many support them. Now that Mamdani has opened the door others are getting bolder, pretending his outrageous proposals are the new normal.
Our best hope is that زہران کوامے ممدانی creates such chaos in NYC that the country rears back in horror and never makes the mistake of electing anyone like him again.
NY voted for this reap what they voted for OR RECALL