On Wednesday, a new Siena poll found that the majority of voters in New York State support New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for an income tax increase on earnings above $1 million. Across the state, 54 percent support the proposal, and only 29 percent oppose it. Among New York City voters, the support number jumps to 62 percent. Among Democrats statewide, it’s 72 percent. Even in the more moderate downstate suburbs, 50 percent of voters support Mamdani’s idea.
Governor Kathy Hochul is vying for reelection this fall. Her own favorability sits at 46 percent. Mamdani needs Hochul’s cooperation to implement his proposed millionaire’s tax but she has thus far refused to take up the demand, no doubt seeking to placate wealthy donors. The polls suggest this actually might be political malpractice. Taxing the rich is often talked about in American politics as if it were a niche left-wing demand, but in New York right now, it’s a majority position — and the democratic socialist mayor pushing for it is the most popular politician in the state, besting Hochul herself.
Mamdani inherited a $5.4 billion budget gap from the bumbling Eric Adams administration, a shortfall that is compounded by Donald Trump’s gutting of federal programs for health care, food assistance, and housing. Behind these specific pressures is also a longer-standing structural problem: New York City generates the majority of the state’s revenue but receives far less than its share back. Without new revenue from a millionaire tax, the mayor has said plainly, the alternative is a property tax hike on all New York City homeowners. Mamdani has made it clear which option he prefers but says the choice ultimately belongs to Hochul.
Inspired by the democratic socialist Mamdani’s meteoric rise to mayor last year, everyone from Trump to Gavin Newsom has started talking about “affordability,” a word his campaign popularized through repetition. That includes Hochul, who is…
Auteur: Meagan Day
