President Donald Trump lashed out at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday, accusing him of destroying the city with tax policies — one day after Mamdani announced a new levy targeting the ultrawealthy second-home owners who sit squarely within Trump’s donor base.
The target of Trump’s frustration is a newly announced pied-à-terre tax — an annual surcharge on properties valued above $5 million whose owners maintain a primary residence outside New York City. Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled the proposal on April 15, with Mamdani posting “Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich” alongside a video filmed outside billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse.
The tax carries 93% public approval, and analysts project it will generate at least $500 million annually, funding public services including free child care and infrastructure.
The pied-à-terre tax is one piece of a broader fiscal agenda Mamdani has pushed to close a projected $5.4 billion two-year budget gap. His proposals also include a two-point income tax increase on filers earning $1 million or more, a corporate tax hike targeting finance sector firms, and limits on a pass-through tax credit that currently lets hedge fund partners use business tax payments to wipe out their personal income tax bills.
Trump softened his tone slightly in later remarks at a Las Vegas event, telling reporters Mamdani “calls me all the time, says hi” before adding: “His policies are no good. He’s chasing a lot of people out and causing a lot of harm to everybody. Everybody’s taxes are going through the roof.”
By “everybody,” Trump apparently means luxury property investors, finance executives, and billionaire second-home owners who treat New York City real estate as an investment vehicle rather than a place to live. Trump’s administration’s signature legislative achievements delivered the largest tax cuts to the country’s highest earners.
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Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race last November on an unambiguous platform of taxing the wealthy to fund public services. He has governed accordingly, and apparently without losing his side hustle: the mayor still earns rap royalties under his former monikers “Young Cardamom” and “Mr. Cardamom” — $1,643 last year, up from $1,267 in 2024.
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