Millionaires are Fleeing New York — Taking $11 Billion in Tax Revenue With Them

Millionaires are Fleeing New York — Taking $11 Billion in Tax Revenue With Them

Remember when New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani stood outside hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin’s penthouse on Tax Day to gleefully announce he had “secured” a pied-à-terre tax — “the first in New York’s history!” At one point in the video, the camera zoomed in on his smirking face, emphasizing his obvious delight at sticking it to the rich.

The move was simply the latest in a series of tax increases that have left New Yorkers with one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. But “the rich” didn’t become rich by making poor financial decisions. Faced with ever-rising taxes, many have simply packed up and moved elsewhere.

Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich. pic.twitter.com/Wky2LFXC9W

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2026

On Monday, the Citizen Budget Commission released a study documenting the cumulative effects of New York’s aggressive tax policies. One of its most notable findings was that between 2010 and 2022, the state’s share of the nation’s millionaires fell from 12.7% to 8.7% and their exodus cost the state nearly $11 billion in lost tax revenue for the 2022 tax year alone.

According to the study, “Had New York maintained its share of the nation’s millionaires over the past decade, personal income tax collections would have been substantially higher – roughly $10.7 billion more in tax year 2022.”

Jared Walczak, an economist and senior fellow at The Tax Foundation, told The New York Post:

In New York, the top 1% of earners pay about 45% of all state income taxes in any given year, so New York’s revenue is very reliant on high earners to stay in New York, and that has been a challenge in recent years.

Gracie Mansion can’t do it on its own; it takes Albany. Pied-à-terre [tax] will have some impact, but there’s this feeling that New York isn’t done raising taxes, and with other places being more competitive, it won’t be surprising if high-earner taxpayers choose to relocate.

Abir Mandel, a senior state policy analyst with the Tax Foundation, told the Post that New York “currently ranks dead last for competitiveness.”

“Without reforming the tax structure, New York won’t be competitive for attracting population and business,” he said. “Wall Street is the golden goose. But for how long?”

The Post also spoke with Ken Girardin, a research fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, who blamed New York lawmakers for the state’s economic stagnation. He pointed to the tightened rent-control law enacted in 2019 and the state’s green-energy mandate as the “one-two punch” that has reduced the housing supply and driven up energy costs.

The CBC study found:

• New York has lost more population to every state than it has gained from them, with Florida and Texas among the biggest recipients of former New Yorkers.
• After seeing a mass exodus during the coronavirus pandemic, New York City’s population rebound in 2023 and 2024 was driven by international immigrants.
• A “growth corridor” from New York City and Long Island to Albany largely drives the state’s economy, with upstate and other rural regions hemorrhaging workers.
• The Empire State leads the nation in state and local taxes collected, with per capita collections at $12,495 – or 78% above the US average.

To be sure, New York’s economic problems didn’t begin with Zohran Mamdani. Years of high taxes, heavy regulation, and business-unfriendly policies laid the groundwork long before he took office. But his proposals would move the state in the same direction — only faster — by imposing even higher taxes and expanding government spending at a time when affluent residents are already voting with their feet.

Asked to comment on the CBC study on Monday, the mayor offered a non-answer: “I’ve been very clear about the fact that we live in the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and it’s unacceptable that one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and I believe that the wealthiest can do a little bit more to ensure that everyone can afford to live here.”

“And the little bit more — when we’re talking about the pied-a-terre tax — it’s a tax on non-resident New Yorkers’ secondary homes that are worth more than $5 million. I think that that’s common sense. I think most New Yorkers feel the same way. And I look forward to advance a vision of our city that has room for everyone.”

🚨WATCH: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubles down on taxing the rich when asked about millionaires fleeing New York, which is eating into the state's tax revenue. pic.twitter.com/BupiFlC8wS

— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) July 13, 2026

High taxes are only part of the problem. Far-left state and local leaders have layered on regulations that have made New York an increasingly hostile environment for businesses. Worse still, as we saw in February 2024 when Judge Arthur Engoron ordered then-former President Donald Trump to pay a massive $355 million fine, plus more than $98 million in prejudgment interest, those rules are sometimes applied unevenly.

Standing outside Ken Griffin’s penthouse may have made for a compelling video. But governing isn’t about producing viral moments. As the Citizen Budget Commission’s findings make clear, celebrating policies that drive away the very taxpayers who fund a disproportionate share of state government may ultimately prove to be an expensive victory.

As Steve Fulop, the CEO of the Partnership for New York City, told the Post:

If we don’t course-correct and get laser-focused on keeping the city and state attractive to the people and businesses that drive our economy, the affordability crisis will only deepen because the people leaving are the ones paying the largest share of a budget that funds the social programs meant to help our most vulnerable.

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