New York's mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, campaigned on a promise to raise the city's income tax on its richest residents from 3.9% to 5.9%. Combined with the state income tax, which is 10.9% for the top bracket, the increase would cement the city's position as having the highest taxes on top earners in the country. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed the concern, opposing the proposal 'because we cannot have them leave the state.' Before the election, Mamdani's opponent, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, joked that if Mamdani won, 'even I will move to Florida.' I research whether high earners actually move when their taxes go up. My colleagues and I have analyzed millionaire taxes in New Jersey and California, the migration of Forbes billionaires globally and decades of IRS data tracing where Americans with million-dollar incomes live. Top earners are often thought of as 'mobile millionaires' who are ever searching for lower-tax places to live. In reality, they're often reluctant...
learn more
