Manhattan would bear the brunt of Mayor de Blasio’s proposed ‘mansion tax’: study

A new study conducted by the Independent Budget Office confirms pretty much what many people already knew: most of the city’s priciest properties being sold are in Manhattan, reports the New York Post. According to the study, Manhattan was responsible for 86 percent of home sales over $2 million over the past three years, which is why Borough President Gale Brewer is strongly against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed “mansion tax.”

“I am against Manhattanites being the cash cow for the entire five boroughs, which is what this sounds like,” Brewer stated to the Post in regards to Mayor de Blasio’s push to add 2.5 percent tax on sales of homes in the city for $2 million and up, to fund affordable housing initiatives for senior citizens.

The stats show that the neighborhoods with the most sales above $2 million in 2016 were Soho, Tribeca, Little Italy, and Civic Center. Brooklyn neighborhoods accounted for another 13 percent of pricey sales while the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island split the remaining one percent of home sales over $2 million.

Brewer doesn’t feel Manhattan should bear the brunt of the burden for the Mayor’s “mansion tax,” however de Blasio believes the tax is necessary, given the uncertainty of federal funding. According to him, the tax could generate as much as $338 million annually.

“We all want the seniors to have homes . . . but it doesn’t have to come from this tax,” said Brewer.

• City’s most multi-million dollar home sales are in Manhattan [New York Post]
• De Blasio tries again for ‘mansion tax’ to fund affordable housing [Curbed]