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Scrivener7

(59,801 posts)

9. Also, NYC has become the land of money laundering absentee owners. Saudis and billionaires and

Reply to PeaceWave (Reply #6)

Sat Apr 18, 2026, 10:35 PM

18 hrs ago

Russian gangsters buying up properties to launder their money, and the apartments just sit empty for years.
This encourages developers to build apartments that will bring the exorbitant prices those people will pay rather than more modest housing. It runs up housing costs to the stratosphere and makes the city completely unaffordable to those who actually live there.

If this tax makes the city less attractive to these people, that might help restore some affordability to NYC housing, or at least slow the rate of increase.

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Emile

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On Tax Day, Mamdani Taxed the Rich [View all] Celerity 22 hrs ago OP

People talk about rich people leaving a town if they're taxed as if that's a bad thing. Scrivener7 21 hrs ago #1

I'm glad she got out of Mamdani's way on this issue. It IS worth doing. The ultra-rich need to pay their way. ...n/t CaliforniaPeggy 21 hrs ago #2

glad to see you are feeling better my dear Peggy! Celerity 21 hrs ago #3

Thanks so much, my dear Celerity! My recovery is pretty sluggish, but it's happening. CaliforniaPeggy 21 hrs ago #5

Why specifically target those that don't live there full time? MichMan 21 hrs ago #4

I believe the intention was to get property tax dollars out of those who were leaving the city... PeaceWave 21 hrs ago #6

That makes some sense MichMan 20 hrs ago #7

Presumably, property tax revenue would stay at least where it currently is... PeaceWave 19 hrs ago #8

Also, NYC has become the land of money laundering absentee owners. Saudis and billionaires and Scrivener7 18 hrs ago #9

Why not just double or triple their property taxes? MichMan 7 hrs ago #10

They could do that. Or they could do this. They chose this. Scrivener7 7 hrs ago #11

They would get a lot more revenue this way, because it would apply to all owners, whether they lived there or not. MichMan 7 hrs ago #12

Again, they could have chosen that, but they seem to want to go after the absentee owners with this. Scrivener7 7 hrs ago #13

Do you think housing prices are a problem in New York City? W_HAMILTON 7 hrs ago #14

I only visited once about 20 years ago while in NJ for work, so can't say MichMan 7 hrs ago #15

Yes, that's what the article explicitly said. W_HAMILTON 6 hrs ago #16