NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to raise property taxes on White neighborhoods

New York City’s likely next mayor would raise property taxes based on skin color. Here’s what you need to know about Zohran Mamdani’s controversial property tax reform proposal and the political backlash it has generated:

Mamdani’s property tax proposal

Democratic socialist candidate targets racial inequities in taxation:

• Front-runner and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani said he would implement that proposal if, as polls project, he wins Nov. 4 election
• Mr. Mamdani, whose agenda calls for free day care, free bus rides, government-run grocery stores and raising taxes on millionaires to pay for it all, said city’s residential property taxes are inequitable
• Homeowners living in neighborhoods populated by minorities pay too much in property taxes, and those living in wealthier, Whiter neighborhoods don’t pay enough, he said
• Mr. Mamdani, 34, said time has come to “shift the burden” from city’s outer boroughs to “richer” and “Whiter” neighborhoods

Specific plan details

Candidate aims to end current property tax system:

• He aims to end city’s “unbalanced” property tax system, which caps annual increases at 6%
• “The mayor can fix this by pushing class assessment percentages down for everyone and adjusting rates up, effectively lowering tax payments for homeowners in neighborhoods like Jamaica and Brownsville while raising amount paid in most expensive Brooklyn brownstones,” Mr. Mamdani, Democratic Party nominee for mayor, explains on his campaign website

Republican opposition

Critics call plan racist and divisive:

• If implemented, scheme would result in race-based taxation, critics say
• “In America, we don’t tax people for their race,” said Curtis Sliwa, Mr. Mamdani’s Republican opponent
• “Zohran Mamdani’s plan to tax people based on skin color isn’t just wrong, it’s racism, pure and simple”
• “We’re all for tax equity, but he wants to raise taxes on one group,” said Liam McCabe, chair of Brooklyn Republican Party
• “He’s taking woke angle, targeting different communities based on race. And I think that has really upset lot of people. It’s divisive language”

Neighborhood demographics and values

Plan targets specific communities based on racial composition:

• Jamaica and Brownsville are minority communities in Queens and eastern Brooklyn, respectively. More than 70% of their residents are Black or Hispanic
• In Park Slope, Brooklyn, with historic brownstones Mr. Mamdani would like to target for higher taxes, 60% of residents are White
• Median price of home sold in mostly White Park Slope neighborhood is $1.7 million, according to data provided by Realtor.com
• Median selling price for home in less-wealthy, mostly Black enclave of Jamaica, is $620,000

Mamdani’s defense

Candidate stands by proposal despite backlash:

• Mr. Mamdani, facing backlash, quietly moved his property tax proposal to less-prominent spot on his campaign website
• Still, he stood by it when asked during recent “Meet the Press” interview why he injected race into his plan
• “That is just description of what we see right now. It’s not driven by race. It’s more of assessment of what neighborhoods are being undertaxed versus overtaxed,” Mr. Mamdani said
• “We’ve seen time and again that this is property tax system that is inequitable. The focus here is to actually ensure fair property tax system. And use of that language is just assessment of that neighborhood”

Expert analysis of current system

Policy analysts support claims of inequity:

• Elected leaders have proposed various changes to city’s decades-old property tax system, including eliminating cap on tax increases
• Critics of current plan say system undertaxes real estate that has increased in value significantly, shielding wealthier residents from paying more
• They say system harms poorer communities with lower market values, resulting in higher effective property tax rate in those neighborhoods
• “New York City’s property tax system is notoriously opaque and inequitable,” said Iziah Thompson, senior policy analyst at Community Service Society and co-author of March report on city’s property tax system
• “Our research shows how systemic tax policies have placed undue financial burden on working-class renters and neighborhoods with predominantly Black and Hispanic residents, while wealthy homeowners and real estate speculators receive preferential treatment”

Additional tax proposals

Mamdani’s broader socialist agenda includes multiple tax increases:

• His website says current property tax assessments are artificially capped, “so homeowners in expensive neighborhoods pay less than their fair share”
• In addition to his property tax plan, Mr. Mamdani pledged to impose additional 2% income tax on city residents who earn more than $1 million annually and raise corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5%

Election outlook and opposition

Candidate leads in polls despite controversy:

• Mr. Mamdani leads his nearest opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, by average of 17 percentage points, according to Real Clear Politics
• Mr. Cuomo, who is running as independent, warned that Mr. Mamdani’s socialist policies would dramatically shrink tax base
• “You keep taxing businesses and wealthy people in New York City, there will be nobody left,” Mr. Cuomo said on Fox News
• Mr. Mamdani’s campaign spokesperson did not respond to inquiry seeking more details about how he would implement his property tax reform plan

Public reaction

Plan has rattled city residents:

• Mr. Mamdani’s plan has rattled city residents, many of whom have long complained about New York City’s high property taxes but never envisioned imposing racial bias to change them

Read more:

• Tax the Whites: Zohran Mamdani pitches race-based property tax rates for New York City