The Scott Jennings Show

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NY Gov. Hochul Begs Rich to Return So She Can Tax Them

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently begged rich New Yorkers who fled to states with cheaper taxes to return so she can fund “generous social programs.” 

The clip went viral because a Democrat finally admitted that high taxes drive away the wealthy. 

“And being conscious of the fact that I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state,” Hochul said. “Right now, there are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up. OK, cut me the checks if you want to be supportive. But maybe the first step should be to go down to Palm Beach and see who you can bring home, because our tax base has been eroded… I have to look at the fact that we are in competition with other states who have less of a tax burden.” 

Remote work, popularized after COVID-19, allowed high-worth people and companies to go South to states with lower tax rates, Hochul said. 

“There were people who could only work in an office in Manhattan and work in New York state. And they were captives to our state, they were going to stay. We saw that that’s not the case. Wall Street businesses looking at Texas, they’re not going there because they have a nicer governor. They’re going there because of the tax rate.”

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The clip followed a new report from New York City’s comptroller, which found that spending on NYC homeless population hit $81,705 per person last year, up from $28,428 six years ago. 

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to hike property taxes, lower the exemption on the death tax and increase the death tax from 16 percent to 50 percent.