New York City’s top 1% make about $2.2 million annually, on average. That’s nearly 42 times the average income earned by the bottom 99%, $50,107, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Meanwhile, New York State has a regressive tax system, meaning that the more money you make, the less taxes you pay.
In short: working New Yorkers are over-taxed, but the billionaires are under-taxed. Those in the wealthiest 1% are taking home the lion’s share of income gains, yet they pay a smaller share of their income in combined state and local taxes than lower and middle-income families.
This bill would create a progressive tax on absentee owners' second luxury condos in NYC worth $5 million dollars or more, resulting in an estimated $400-500 million/year. This bill almost passed in 2019 but was ultimately blocked by the real estate industry.