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Posted on 04/05/2026 6:35:45 AM PDT by Libloather
Instead of taxing the rich, Mayor Zohran Mamdani could fill nearly half of NYC’s projected $5.4 billion budget gap by simply collecting unpaid taxes and fines from deadbeats.
As of Feb. 28, the city was sitting on $1.1 billion in uncollected property taxes, according to the city Comptroller’s Office.
And it has also been unable to collect another $1.3 billion in Environmental Control Board fines usually issued for construction, zoning, and safety code violations, the Finance Department said.
In all, the uncollected taxes and fines total an astounding $2.4 billion.
That’s 44% of the amount Mamdani claims he needs to fill the massive budget hole while he continues threatening to slam Gotham with a nearly 10% property tax hike—unless Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany pols cave to his “tax the rich” scheme.
Council Speaker Julie Menin, who has been sparring politically with Mamdani over how to fill the budget deficit, said his administration should finally start taking advantage of a newly enacted law the Council approved that streamlines and simplifies how property tax debt is collected.
“Our Council overhauled the tax lien sale to create a fairer system that still delivers revenue and holds bad actors accountable,” she said.
“With over a billion outstanding, there’s no excuse for leaving that money on the table. The city should get the new program up and running to collect what’s owed.”
Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec fired back, “It is disingenuous for the Speaker to say that we should rush a tax lien sale.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Most of those property taxes will be on parcels that will cost more to liquidate than the tax bill. We see it everywhere. I even have one. Its a residential lot that can’t be built on due to zoning so I bought it for $1000 and it has $3000 of tax liens. If the property gets rezoned it will be worth $50-100,000. If not $0. There are millions of those around the country and no more prevalent than in NYC where little strips and clips and odds and ends are all over the place.
They just need a bit more of other people’s money.
This is the siren song of every high tax jurisdiction. It sounds logical and fair. But history shows that enforcement becomes draconian and impacts the little guy who either didn’t know he owed taxes or couldn’t pay due to financial hard times rather than the rich guy who intentionally didn’t pay some large amount.
This might be a dead-horse issue. Detroit faced a similar problem decades ago and, upon enforcement, property owners realized it was cheaper to abandon the properties than to pay the taxes.
In the 60’s, Trenton faced a similar plight, but it used the newly-passed Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) to find a solution. They took the abandon properties and worked an agreement with the trades unions to take unemployed youth in the area and make them apprentice members. In return, the city provided funds to rehab the properties which were then sold to owner-occupiers. The sale allowed the next property to be rehabbed and put that property back on the tax roles. The union got new members. The win-win was so successful that the program made Trenton less reliant on DC, so the gov’t stepped in an shut the program (and MDTA) down.
“The goal of the review is to ... reduce displacement of working-class homeowners across the five boroughs.”
meaning? ... OK for “working-class homeowners” to not pay their property taxes?
in colorado, many unpaid tax liens are on worthless mining claims and mountain shacks ... just for grins, one time i looked at the list of properties in my county that one could obtain title to simply by paying the unpaid taxes ... a total joke ...
If they could they would, and after that is collected if they could what about next year
NYC is done
Let’s say Mamdani was able to collect all that he says is “due” the city. Not likely that he’ll be able to collect all that, but that won’t be the end of funds he’ll need later, so what happens then? Sounds to me like he is just trying to make some of the folks he hasn’t taxed yet to feel better about the whole situation.
It was a great story until the unfortunate (and inevitable) ending.
Start with Al Sharpton.
They should streamline and simplify how rent is collected by landlords.
I am surprised to learn of this program and that it worked well. I am not at all surprised to learn of the government shutting it down.
I enrolled in a trade school in 1970 funded by the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA). This was in Tennessee.
What Trenton did was apparently too sensible for New Jersey politicians; not getting their cut, I guess.
Mommidami wants 5o take from the rich and give to the deadbeats
“Doesn’t say much about the tax collectors. DEI hires?”
Knowing the Democrats, it will be mafia guys - same approach the FBI used to identify the Klansmen in the Mississippi Burning case. They had a person that knew the story, but refused to talk, so they cut a deal with a mafia guy to make him talk. He talked (the mafia is really good at ‘interrogating’ people. Needless to say, that person didn’t last too long after talking - they never do, when dealing with the mafia.
Correct. As Ma’amdami punishes landlords it won’t be long before the NY Post runs the headline “The Bronx is Burning..Again.
If the property owner donates the property to a non-profit organization, does the tax liability go away? Better optics than abandoning the property.
I believe it does, but then the recipient assumes the tax debt before clear title can be transferred.
The obvious problem is that most of the deadbeats are no doubt an important component of Mamdani’s voter base.
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