Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
De Blasio Stalls On Taxing Rich Foreigners Who Exploit Our Tax Code
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 10, 2014
Modified Dec 10, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Getty Images
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 10, 2014
Modified Dec 10, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
"Don't Soul-Search. Stiffen Your Backbone," Bill de Blasio told his fellow Democrats last month. But when it comes to stopping foreign jillionaires from exploiting our tax code, it seems the mayor could use some progressive ayahuasca.
A graduated 4% pied-à-terre tax on obscenely priced apartments disguised as near tax-free investments could net $665 million annually, money the city could use instead of having to pimp out its public housing to private developers or stopping vital ferry service to the Rockaways or pay for any of the things that actual residents of New York City desperately need and people who ski in Gstaad while their Park Avenue apartment sits empty don't.
But two months after the proposal was floated by State Senator Brad Hoylman, the mayor's office still hasn't taken a position on it. The NY Post's sources say it has "no chance" of succeeding, and so the mayor isn't going to make it a legislative priority. Mayoral spokesman Wiley Norvell said that's not true: the administration doesn't have a stance yet.
"We are developing our legislative agenda for the upcoming session in Albany," Norvell says in an email. "We look forward to reviewing the report and continuing our discussions with stakeholders as we set those priorities."
It's true that Mayor de Blasio has a lot to handle in Albany for in the new year: rent control, prosecutorial authority, tax abatement tweaks, among other things.
Another report in Capital reveals the mayor's unwillingness to tamper with our "insane" property tax code.
“The politics of it are so messy,” said one council member, adding that the administration “made clear they didn’t want to do it.”
("Politics" = campaign donations.)
James Parrott, the deputy director and chief economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute, the organization who drafted the pied-à-terre tax proposal, says there are other equally dire problems that require the mayor's attention: "Reform of the City’s business tax breaks can’t wait. ICAP expires in March of 2015, and it needs to be re-vamped, and there needs to be a re-thinking of the Hudson Yards tax breaks."
But Parrot says the issues of foreigners fleecing us and the fundamental unfairness of our property tax code may reinforce each other to make the problem untenable.
“Given the fact that very occasionally-present luxury owners contribute little to the city tax base, the idea will continue percolating even if not enacted right away. The proposal draws needed attention to the huge problem with how the current tax law values coops and condos. That problem has to be addressed sooner or later.”
Tagged
brother can you spare a spine
pied a terre tax
rich foreigners
tax code
tax reform
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
A big, bright Saturn will be the highlight of NYC's fall stargazing season
Stargazers will have a great view of Saturn and two meteor showers in October.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 3, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
News
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .