Posted on 07/13/2026 8:59:04 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
New York has spent years aggressively taxing its wealthiest residents in the name of fairness, and the results are now in. Suffice it to say, they’re not pretty.
A new study released Monday by the Citizen Budget Commission (CBC) reveals the state’s share of America’s millionaires has dropped sharply since 2010, triggering a nearly $11 billion shortfall in tax revenue in a single year as high earners quietly packed up and left for lower-tax states.
The analysis shows New York’s share of millionaires fell from 12.7% in 2010 to just 8.7% in 2022 — the steepest decline of any state in the country.
As a direct result, personal income tax collections in 2022 alone were roughly $10.7 billion lower than they otherwise would have been if they had maintained their share of the wealthy folks. The study makes clear that the people leaving pay a disproportionately large share of state taxes, creating a painful hole in the budget that affects everything from public services to infrastructure funding.
Economist Jared Walczak provides numbers that back up the notion.
“In New York, the top 1% of earners pay about 45% of all state income taxes in any given year, so New York’s revenue is very reliant on high earners to stay in New York, and that has been a challenge in recent years,” he told the New York Post.
$11 billion. That’s what it costs New York every year to keep punishing success instead of rewarding it.
https://t.co/wRB3U1G0Sj— Jewels Jones ® (@JewelsJonesLive) July 13, 2026
This represents tangible evidence that the "tax the rich" mantra does not yield higher revenue to subsequently spend on public services for lower-income families or improve general infrastructure. It is actually taking money away from the state and those residents who might benefit.
Taxing the rich is a platform for the economically illiterate. Unfortunately for the Empire State, the economically illiterate hold significant positions in government. At both state (Governor Kathy Hochul) and city (Zohran Kwame Mamdani) levels.
Democrats aren't making the rich pay their fair share. They're shooting themselves in the foot.
The Post suggests that Hochul (D) has been resistant to flat-out increasing the tax burden for the wealthiest New Yorkers but notes she shared the same brainstorm with Mamdani (C-ommunist) on the so-called pied-à-terre tax. You know, the one he produced an uber-creepy video for, declaring "Happy Tax Day!" while stalking the home of hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.
Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich. pic.twitter.com/Wky2LFXC9W— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2026
Walczak went on to state that the general consensus is that "New York isn’t done raising taxes, and ... it won’t be surprising if high-earner taxpayers choose to relocate.”
Which, one would have to assume, would lead to billions more in lost revenue.
Presented with an opportunity to address the numbers, Mamdani did what most blue-city or blue-state politicians do—blindly doubled down on ignorance.
"The wealthiest can do a little bit more to ensure that everyone can afford to live here," he told reporters. "And the little bit more—and we're talking about the pied-à-terre tax—it's a tax on non-resident New Yorkers' secondary homes that are worth more than $5 million. I think that that's common sense, and most New Yorkers feel the same way."
"I look forward to continuing to advance the vision of our city."
🚨WATCH: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubles down on taxing the rich when asked about millionaires fleeing New York, which is eating into the state's tax revenue. pic.twitter.com/BupiFlC8wS— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) July 13, 2026
New York ranks dead last in competitiveness, according to Tax Foundation senior state policy analyst Abir Mandel, who argues that New York’s high taxes are driving businesses and high earners to more tax-friendly states. And he warned it may get worse.
"Without reforming the tax structure, New York won’t be competitive for attracting population and business,” he told the Post. "Wall Street is the golden goose. But for how long?”
Not long at all, if Mamdani has his way.
Democrat math: $11 billion in tax revenue gone.
State spending increased $18.1 billion last year.
They destroy everything they touch. https://t.co/y1zS1mXy67— Steve McLaughlin (@SteveMcNY) July 13, 2026
On top of the crushing tax burden, New York’s strict rent controls, soaring energy costs from aggressive green mandates, and a mountain of red tape are only making things worse.
Democrat policies are driving more people and businesses away and turning what should be a truly great economic engine into a slow-motion fiscal disaster with no end in sight.
What’s that saying about running outa other peoples money?
Mamdani will just say the study is all lies. Hochul will back him up. That’ll be good enough for the MSM, except maybe the NY Post.
Millionaires Go Missing
WSJ.com
May 26, 2009Here's a two-minute drill in soak-the-rich economics: Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it."
One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year -- even at higher rates.
And the lesson the government refuses to learn is, higher taxes don't work.
Mamdani seems to think NYC is a sovereign nation, over which he is the king, or something like that.
I think there was a story last week about how he's conducting foreign policy with some middle-east country. Or maybe the "Palestinian Authority." Can't remember.
They’ll need to try their evil lawless experiment again after all 50 states have gone Communist.
Next step is for blue states to dominate at a federal level spreading their disease and forcing the rest of us to bail out the blues. Civil War is on in a different way.
de Tocqueville comes true.
Newspaper said on lower right: “Analysts say Zohran will raise everybody’s taxes”
Is that like “a rising tide lifts all boats”? Toward a high waterfall.
When Bill Clinton ran the first time, Money Magazine had a summary of the candidates and said “Just from the aspect of his middle class tax cut it would profit most in the middle class to vote for Clinton.”
He won and quickly said: “My team has analyzed the financial situation and the country is now in such bad shape, worse than I knew earlier, that it will be necessary now to raise taxes. We cannot have the middle class tax cut I planned.”
That issue of Money hung around in the staff lounge on a table at work for months, reminding me. Along with the pain in my wallet.
Rich like Bernie Sanders and that despicably and ugly wretch Ro Khanna? And JB Pritzker who got the money for being born as his family supplied millions to him.
Currently, 27 US Senators are not millionaires. In the past it was down much lower. Since the early years the nickname for the Senate was “the Millionaires Club.”
My cousin had a business in Truckee, California. He was making the motherboards for slot machines for Vegas and much of Nevada. His business was most successful and as he wanted to expand the insane rules, taxes and regulations of California just became to much.
He moved his business to Nevada with much help from Nevada. They wanted his business. He did. He took his essential personnel with him. Sadly, the rest were left with no job, due to the insanity of California rules on business. He did not fire them, California fired them.
Be interesting to see how it’s fairing with “investable asset” millionaires (I.e., exclude value of primary residence).
Given inflated property values, I’m betting that number is really scary for Ny.
It has been proven decades ago raising taxes lowers the income to the state.
It has been proven decades ago raising taxes lowers the income to the state.
If you are referring to the quote, "Democracy will last only until voters discover they can vote themselves benefits from the public treasury," that is famously misattributed to Alexis de Tocqueville or, alternatively, to Alexander Fraser Tytler (Lord Woodhouselee).
Truth is that John Adams originated the thought - that democracies tend to commit "suicide" by voting themselves largesse; found in Thoughts on Government (1776):
"A single Assembly is apt to be avaricious, and in time will not scruple to exempt itself from burthens which it will lay, without compunction, on its constituents."It's true that Adams said "Assemblies" rather than "voters," because at that time the actual electorate was tiny, and voting limited to the propertied class.
Regards,
The wife is Facebook friends with my wife, and recently crowed about how proud she was that her children's school demonstrated against ICE (she is a militant anti-Trumper). And they recently declared, for tax purposes, that Florida is now their main residence.
Regards,
*To give you an idea about how profligate they are, they built that mansion, and then subsequently had a vast basement installed by digging out tons of schist and gneiss - underneath their house, while they were still living there!
the rich saying tax the rich
I disagree - as a 60 plus year Maryland resident - I can tell you that from the
perspective of the black political establishment in Maryland- higher taxes do in
fact work.
THEY WANT US TO LEAVE THE STATE TO THEM.
They aren’t interested in fixing anything. They will never stop taking from the whites.
He forgets the “rich” can just leave….. since we are a constitutional republic, there are many many better places for the “rich” to thrive.
I said before, it’s math. When 2% of New York City people pay 70% of tax revenue, it’s fragile. That’s only 160k of the 8 million people in the city. If even half of those people leave you have a catastrophic tax revenue collapse. Then you can’t pay for simple basic requirements like police, fire, trash removal, courts, streets, water, it all implodes.
When it’s done imploding, maybe we just wall it off and make it a penal colony….oh wait…that’s escape from New York. Imagine a old movie being a prophesy into people picking communism in what used to be one of the greatest cities in the world!
Mental Health, especially TDS, is fascinating at its destructive potential. Hate and irresponsible media (as well as Obama) have fundamentally changed NYC and are rapidly collided with dark future. Take head Americans, you can vote for Terrorist associated Muslim Socialist, but you can’t vote them out.
They don’t care and never will. They know that the bleeding hearts in D.C., which includes republicans will bail them out.
This will continue feed their corruption as we all know only a fraction of money will go to help with the larger share going to line the pockets of those in charge.
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