New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, announced this week that he is making good on his campaign promise to tax the rich. Like all socialists, Mamdani claims that the rich do not pay their “fair share,” a claim contradicted by the data. In effect, wealthy taxpayers pay almost all of the taxes in New York City, while the lower 50% not only pay almost nothing but also receive government benefits. The lower 30% of NYC residents do almost no work. This is supported by Census Bureau data showing that the lowest income quintile in New York City earns a mean household income of just $12,294, equivalent to roughly 14 hours per week at New York’s minimum wage of $16.50, which is already nearly double the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
According to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, millionaires paid 44.6% of all personal income tax collected in tax year 2024, while the top 200,000 taxpayers paid 51.9%. Millionaires also accounted for over 75% of all reported capital gains in the state that year. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of taxpayers paid just 0.2%. According to 2023 data from the NYC Independent Budget Office, the top 1% of city income tax filers paid approximately one-third of all city income tax revenue, with a threshold of at least $906,677 in income.
