I say that as someone who serves on the Real Property Taxation Committee in the State Assembly, as someone who has looked at this system, sought to introduce legislation to augment this system, and yet been told that the scale of this is one where the Assembly, the Senate, Albany in general, is waiting for the vision of the mayor.
The past few weeks, we have seen a bewildering parade of policies emerging from Treasury sources. These include reforms to inheritance tax, replacing stamp duty with a national proportional property tax for homes worth more than 500,000, replacing council tax with a local proportional property tax levied on house values up to 500,000 with a minimum annual bill of 800 paid by the property owner, and a potential capital gains tax (CGT) on primary residences valued at more than 1.5m.
Zohran Mamdani’s plan could dramatically change tax bills throughout New York City by ensuring properties like Ken Griffin’s Central Park South apartment are taxed closer to their actual sales value, reflecting a need for a systemic overhaul in the property tax system.
The imbalance between Californian property ownership and tax contributions has sparked a major property tax reform in Montana, aiming to shift the tax burden to second-home owners.