Calls from everyday New Yorkers to tax the rich are growing. These come after President Donald Trump doubled down on economic policies and budget cuts in the State of the Union, which data show keep the cost of living high.
New York’s proposed 2027 budget allocates funds to ease some costs, but borrows billions from the state’s budget reserve to do so.
Brahvan Ranga, manager for the Invest in Our New York campaign, said the state’s not looking to raise new revenue to offset federal cuts.
“Gov. (Kathy) Hochul has said because of higher-than-expected Wall Street bonuses and the revenue that comes from them, we are not in a place where we need to raise additional revenue this year,” he said, “That money is not sustainable, is not a long-term, permanent funding source.”
He and others want state lawmakers to pass the Invest in Our New York Act, a series of four bills that raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and mega corporations to fund social programs. The Fiscal Policy Institute has said increasing taxes on the rich can help implement programs such as universal child care and bolster counties that are facing increased costs due to federal megabill cuts.
Feedback on the Invest in Our New York Act is positive, but some oppose the legislation because it could drive wealthier New Yorkers away. However, reports show it’s the state’s working-class population that’s moving away due to growing affordability challenges.
Ranga said additional support from state lawmakers stems from seeing firsthand how the people in their districts are bracing for federal cuts.
“Hospitals in their districts are already shutting down wards and laying off staff in anticipation of the federal cuts,” he said. “They’ve seen the impacts of cuts to SNAP. They’ve seen the impacts of localities having to scale back services to deal with the federal cuts.”
Even if the bill passes through the Assembly and the Senate, it faces one last obstacle: Hochul. Her insistence on not raising new revenue through taxes on the rich has put Hochul at odds with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who’s trying to address the city’s multi-billion-dollar budget deficit.
If nothing is done, Ranga said, the state’s existing affordability crisis will get worse.
“There’s already an affordability crisis,” he said. “Before any of these federal cuts happened, New York was the most unequal state in the country. And that’s only going to get worse. People are going to have a harder time affording to stay in our state.”
