Before taking office, Zohran Mamdani had already been clear about how he believed New York City should fund its future. In recent interviews, the mayor-elect has outlined an ambitious plan to raise $10 billion annually by taxing large corporations that do business in New York and increasing taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents.
For Mamdani, the proposal is less about punishment and more about preparation. He frames the plan as a way to fund a progressive economic agenda while protecting New York from political uncertainty at the federal level.
“I’ve proposed that we raise $10 billion to pay for our entire economic agenda and start to Trump-proof our city,” Mamdani said during an appearance on The Breakfast Club. “Because we know he’ll use federal funding as leverage over this city.”
That idea, financial independence as political protection, has become central to Mamdani’s broader vision for New York. He argues that the city must be resilient enough to withstand shifting federal priorities, particularly if future funding becomes conditional or politically motivated.
At the core of Mamdani’s plan are two primary revenue streams. The first focuses on corporations operating in New York State by bringing the state’s corporate tax rate in line with neighboring New Jersey’s.
“We are at 7.25%. They’re at 11.5%,” Mamdani explained. “Corporations can pay it over there. They can pay it over here.”
He has also pushed back against the idea that higher taxes would drive companies out of the city, noting that the policy would apply to any corporation doing business in New York, regardless of where it is headquartered.
“Wherever you are headquartered, as long as you do business in the state of New York, you are taxable for that corporate tax,” he said.
Mamdani emphasized that the proposal targets highly profitable corporations, not struggling businesses. “We’re talking about corporations that are making millions of dollars, not in revenue, but in profit,” he added.
The second pillar of the plan centers on individual wealth. Mamdani has proposed a flat 2% tax increase on the top 1% of New Yorkers—those earning $1 million or more annually.
“We’re talking about people who make a million dollars a year or more,” he said. “Taxing them just by a flat 2% tax increase.”
According to Mamdani, the increase would amount to roughly $20,000 a year for those affected, a figure he characterizes as marginal relative to the overall benefit to the city.
The revenue generated from these measures, Mamdani says, would be used to fund priorities such as universal childcare, which has been approved a little over a week of him in office, expanded social services, and long-term investments in working families.
Supporters see the proposal as a clear signal of how Mamdani intends to govern: by asking those who benefit most from New York’s economy to contribute more to its stability and growth. Critics, meanwhile, have raised concerns about potential business resistance and high-income residents seeking lower-tax alternatives elsewhere.
Now that Mamdani is in office, will he still move forward?
