Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York City, is facing criticism for backing a tax plan that many claim could be disastrous. Under this plan, the estate tax exemption can see a sharp drop of 90%, as reported by Fox News.
New York already has its own estate tax that operates separately from the federal estate tax. Previously, this tax would mostly affect the rich, as the limit was $7.35 million. However, now the limit can be reduced to $750,000.
This can rope in families who fall in the middle class, especially those whose main assets include their house. As Fox News reported, this is one of the lowest limits in the country.
Zohran Mamdani is proposing to raise NY’s estate tax to 50% and have it kick in at $750,000 instead of more than $7 million https://t.co/VAJuZFSFV3
— Bloomberg (@business) March 13, 2026
On top of that, Mamdani also plans to increase how much is charged on estates that do get taxed. Currently, the highest estate tax rate is 16% in New York, which might go up to 50%. This is creating a scenario in which the government might get three times the share it had before.
Many have slammed this idea, including Edward Pinto, a senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center.
He told Fox News, “This proposal would destroy NYC’s wealth in a different manner,” adding, “This estate tax proposal will mistreat capital and result in the voluntary exodus of NYC residents and their wealth to places like Florida and Tennessee.”
A research fellow at the Mercatus Center, Joshua Rowley, also pointed out the issues with this plan.
He stated, “Estate taxes force citizens to liquidate assets to pay taxes on previously taxed assets—putting homes, retirement accounts, and businesses in the crosshairs. It would also discourage responsible retirement planning and punish parents for the sole crime of wanting to leave their children better off.”
Rowley further added, “But the Mamdani proposal also pulls back the curtain on all tax-the-rich solutions. What starts off as an exclusive tax on the rich invariably gets expanded to lower income groups to satisfy the government’s spending addiction.”
New Yorkers keep hearing the slogan “tax the rich.”
But take a closer look at what’s actually being proposed.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing a plan to slash the estate tax threshold from $7 million to $750,000 while raising the top estate tax rate to 50%.
Let’s be serious.… pic.twitter.com/pdeHT5O4zk
— Tramell Thompson (@progressiveact) March 15, 2026
Bruce Blakeman, a Republican politician, has come forward to oppose this. He called the tax “the most extreme Death Tax in America.”
He stated, “Children will lose half the value of their parents’ home and family businesses will have to be sold off just to pay this cruel tax,” as reported by The New York Post.
Mamdani had proposed taxing the rich more than before in general. But Kevin O’Leary, a TV personality and investor, thinks this plan could make residents leave the city.
On X, he wrote, “Are you kidding me? New York is already the highest taxed jurisdiction in America, that’s not a small increase, that’s a massive hit.”
He further added, “He’s not cutting spending, he’s just going to tax people into oblivion.”
According to O’Leary, as reported by Yahoo! Finance, the wealthy might shift to other states following this decision.
He claimed, “Mark my words, within 12 to 18 months I’ll meet him in Miami and give him ‘Real Estate Agent of the Year,’ because he’s about to push even more New Yorkers out.”
