NYC Tax Plan That Angered Rich Is Proving Difficult to Design

Residential luxury towers along Billionaire's Row in New York.Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

New York officials are trying to give shape to the pied-à-terre tax proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul, with significant questions about how the levy would work still unresolved amid broader Democratic discord over the state budget.

Last month, Hochul proposed a surcharge on second homes in New York City worth $5 million or more to help close the city’s $5.4 billion budget deficit and find a compromise with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy. The proposal has triggered anger and alarm among rich people who say they are being unfairly targeted.