NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she’s a “staunch capitalist” opposed to higher taxes and would work to ensure New York remains attractive to businesses if democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of New York City.
Businesses need to know “that the city of New York, as powerful and mighty as it is, is still a subdivision of the state, so any tax increase has to come across my desk first,” Hochul said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Mamdani, a member of the state assembly, has said he’ll push for an increase in the state’s corporate tax rate and a new tax on millionaires to pay for an ambitious policy agenda including free bus service and universal childcare.
Should he win, “I will work closely with him to help him understand that when we want to solve society’s problems, and there are many, we also need to make sure we have the resources to do it. That means letting people know that we appreciate you being here, you’re building companies, you’re creating wealth, you’re hiring people,” she said.
Hochul, 67, is among a group of senior New York Democrats who have so far refrained from endorsing Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in November’s general election. Polls show he is favored to win in a four-way race against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Republican Curtis Sliwa and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani’s momentum comes as New York state faces a $34 billion budget deficit over the next three fiscal years — the largest since the financial crisis. The state will also have to grapple with the fiscal impact of President Donald Trump’s federal budget bill, which Hochul has estimated could cost the state almost $13 billion per year, spurring concerns that the state will need new sources of revenue regardless of a Mamdani victory.
“I am very sensitive to competitiveness with other states,” Hochul said in response to a question about the shortfall. “I’ve said I don’t want to raise income taxes on high net worth people. I want them to know that New York is a place where we want to foster innovation.”
Hochul, who acknowledged Mamdani “hit a real nerve” with voters over affordability, said she is “having conversations” with the upstart candidate but that “there are a lot of very strong philosophical differences” between the two.
“People can have a certain philosophy, but you have to govern in reality,” she said. “I want to make sure we inspire people to come here.”
Hochul added that Trump’s restrictive immigration policy is a more imminent threat to New York’s business climate, citing the vast number of foreign-born founders of tech startups.
“If those students stop coming to our universities and we stop attracting people who are the most brilliant in the world, that’s something we have to overcome,” she said.
--With assistance from Nacha Cattan
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