Mamdani's rent freeze, tax hikes a 'one-two wealth destruction punch,' economists warn
New Yorkers could be facing a "one-two wealth destruction punch" if Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze and tax hikes take effect, economists warn.Mamdani’s housing plan, a campaign promise aimed at...
By Fox News · Fox News
New Yorkers could be facing a "one-two wealth destruction punch" if Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze and tax hikes take effect, economists warn. Mamdani’s housing plan, a campaign promise aimed at addressing affordability, includes an immediate freeze on roughly 2 million rent-stabilized apartments. Separately, his broader $127 billion budget agenda calls for higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, as well as a potential 9.5% property tax increase if state lawmakers decline to act. In the nation’s largest city and a global financial center, the outcome of Mamdani’s proposals could shape not only the future of New York’s housing market, but also broader debates over regulation, taxation and urban policy. MAMDANI BUDGET POURS MILLIONS INTO DEI OFFICES AND CUTS 5,000 NYPD JOBS Edward Pinto, senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute, said capping rent increases while raising property taxes would pressure landlords from both directions, reducing revenue while increasing expenses. "This would be a one-two wealth destruction punch," Pinto told Fox News Digital. "The rent freeze would drive multifamily property values down and the increase in property taxes would drive both multifamily and single-family values down," he said. That, he warned, could ripple across the housing market, affecting not only landlords but also homeowners whose property values are tied to broader market conditions. He also said the policies could discourage new housing construction and lead landlords to defer repairs and improvements. "At the same time, the construction of new supply would contract and property upkeep would diminish as repairs are deferred and improvements are not made," Pinto said. CONSERVATIVE STATES SEE LOWER INFLATION THAN LIBERAL ONES NATIONWIDE, WHITE HOUSE DATA SHOWS Expanding on that argument, E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, said the risks extend beyond property values and could ultima…