Overview
- Politico and Bloomberg report that Gov. Kathy Hochul has held informal, “back of the napkin” discussions about raising New York’s corporate tax rate to generate revenue.
- Such a move could help close a roughly $4 billion state deficit and potentially support parts of New York City mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani’s approximately $10 billion agenda, including free buses and universal childcare.
- Mamdani has proposed lifting the state corporate rate from about 7.3–7.5% toward 11–11.5%, a level critics note would combine with existing New York City levies to significantly raise the overall business tax burden.
- Business leaders and Republicans denounced the idea, with incoming Partnership for New York City CEO Steven Fulop calling the proposal “absolute suicide” and Rep. Elise Stefanik accusing Hochul of caving to the left.
- A New York Post report says sources close to Hochul do not support raising the corporate rate but have not ruled it out to address multi‑billion‑dollar gaps, and no formal tax proposal has been introduced.