Overview
- In July 2026, the Citizens Budget Commission and the New York State comptroller published analyses that estimate New York’s falling share of millionaires cut personal income tax receipts by roughly $10.7–$11 billion for tax year 2022.
- The comptroller’s migration dashboard documents large net outflows starting in 2020, including about 112,458 tax filers leaving in 2020 and roughly 95,679 leaving between 2021 and 2024, with 13,662 net departures in 2024.
- Analysts point to high state and local taxes, rising cost of living, falling New York City public school enrollment, and concerns about disorder as major push factors that have sent wealthy filers to no‑income‑tax states such as Florida and Texas.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani has defended proposals to tax the wealthy, including a pied‑à‑terre levy, and rejects claims that higher taxes will trigger mass departures, creating a political tension between progressive priorities and the shrinking tax base that funds them.
- Coverage of the findings splits along ideological lines, with conservative outlets framing the data as proof that tax hikes drive out the rich and progressive outlets emphasizing equity and the need for revenue, and the conflict raises clear risks to funding for services and programs paid for by top earners.