Potential GOP challenger warns Hochul that a corporate tax hike would be a 'disaster' for New York's economy

By Fox News · Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: While Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman weighs a gubernatorial bid, Gov. Kathy Hochul , D-N.Y., is reportedly considering a corporate tax hike – a move the New York Republican described to Fox News Digital as a "tax on the middle class." Blakeman said a decision about his political future is coming "very soon" as he travels across New York state to determine if he has the "support to get to the next level." But as Blakeman mulls his political future, he is sounding the alarm on Hochul for reportedly planning to raise taxes on corporations to shore up funds for the state's budget gap and to deliver on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani 's socialist campaign agenda, according to Politico . "This is a tax on the middle class," Blakeman told Fox News Digital. "It will make things less affordable. It will drive up inflation, and it will make New York less competitive. Corporations are already leaving our state in record numbers. Jobs are leaving our state. People are leaving our state. This corporate tax increase will drive more high net-worth individuals and corporations out of New York State and will be an economic disaster." NEW YORK LEADER PLEDGES MORE COPS, TOUGHER ICE PARTNERSHIP IF NYC ELECTS SOCIALIST MAYOR Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, the region's leading economic development advocacy organization, told Fox News Digital that a corporate tax increase could be "potentially devastating" to Long Island's economy. STEFANIK DECRIES HOCHUL AS 'WORST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA' IN FIERY 2026 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH "Long Island, whose economy is closely aligned with New York City , is already confronting multiple challenges, including high taxes, high costs of living, and a lack of housing driving potential employees and employers outside the region," Strober said, adding that a corporate tax hike would "only serve to drive away additional businesses and high-income earners, who pay the majority of the state’s tax revenue." "Wh…