New York's Tax Gap Widens Under Bloomberg

Steven Malanga
The Priciest City
Under Mayor Bloomberg, New York’s tax gap widens.
27 March 2007

While New York City has long had a reputation as a taxing place to live and work, a study earlier this year by the city’s Independent Budget Office quantified government’s deep bite into Gotham businesses and residents, provoking headlines in the press and justifiable shock among some public figures. One angle that the press missed, however, is that the city’s tax burden has grown under the Bloomberg administration, reversing the gains produced by tax cuts during the 1990s.

The IBO study prompted some local politicians and policymakers to call for trimming the city’s taxes. But Mayor Bloomberg defended the high levies by arguing that they’re necessary to provide “premium” services that New Yorkers demand. [services? the mayor is ignoring infrastructure]

Among Bloomberg’s tax and fee increases was a record property-tax hike in 2004. [Of course Bruce Ratner gets a 30 year property tax break.]


Higher taxes for us tax breaks for billionaires like Bruce Ratner. Then Bloomberg, someone who allegedly made his money reporting on financial markets, scratches his head and wonders why businesses are leaving (except for the ones who get tax breaks) .