New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday pushed back against claims that high taxes are driving wealthy residents out of the city, arguing instead that the real departure is among working-class New Yorkers struggling to afford living costs.

The idea that affluent residents have been leaving in large numbers for lower-tax states such as Florida gained traction ahead of the 2025 mayoral race, particularly as Mamdani promoted significant tax hikes to fund expanded social programs. Speaking at a Tax Day event beneath a “Tax The Rich” banner, he rejected those claims and said the narrative does not reflect reality.

“So for all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount — I say imagined because before I was a mayor I was a state legislator and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time — we were told the same thing then — and what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time even after having passed that tax,” Mamdani said.

He argued that the focus should instead be on those being priced out of the city. “And so for all of that conversation about this imagined exodus, we have to reckon with the very real exodus that we are seeing in the city, an exodus of working class people, an exodus of those who cannot afford to live here,” Mamdani continued.

Earlier this year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul also addressed the issue, urging wealthy individuals who relocated to places like Florida to return, noting that a sizable portion of the state’s tax base had shifted to areas such as Palm Beach.

Mamdani pointed to broader migration trends among residents seeking more affordable living elsewhere. “For many who work here who now find their residence in Jersey City or in Connecticut or in Pennsylvania, anywhere else where their dollar can go a little bit further,” Mamdani said. “And we’ve seen just in a snapshot from 2000 to 2020, the city lost 200,000 of its black residents.”

Following Mamdani’s primary victory in June 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suggested that the mayor’s policies could accelerate departures from New York, particularly among higher-income residents.

“If this socialist mayor candidate wins – you’re gonna see real estate value skyrocket even more in Palm Beach, because people are gonna get out of that city,” DeSantis said. “As bad as DeBlasio was, this guy is like going to be way, way, worse.”

Migration trends in recent years have shown movement from states like New York and California to states such as Florida, which has no state income tax and operates with a budget comparable in size to New York City’s. A 2023 Siena College poll found that 27% of New York residents were considering leaving the state within five years, while 31% said they planned to relocate upon retirement.

{Matzav.com}