New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani surrounds himself with economists Gabriel Zucman and Joseph Stiglitz for the taxation of the “ultra-rich”

The new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, and the star economists on the left Gabriel Zucman and Joseph Stiglitz called this Wednesday, April 15, to further tax the income of the “ultra-rich”, a measure defended by the elected socialist during his campaign.

“There is no justification for a regressive system in which the ultra-rich contribute less than the rest of us. This is how inequalities grow and are perpetuated,” write the three men in a text published by the British newspaper The Guardian. They developed their ideas during a panel discussion at the City University of New York, the U.S. city home to the most wealthy individuals but where the cost of living is problematic for many others.

According to Zohran Mamdani, who advocates taxing income over a million dollars at a rate of 2%, 62% of New Yorkers, or 5 million people, “cannot afford to live in this city”. Describing as “imaginary” an exodus of the richest if such a tax were introduced, he expressed concern on the other hand about a “very real exodus” of the working classes.

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner in economics, estimated that the “most worrying” effect of growing wealth inequality concerns “democracy”. “With a political system in the United States that gives an unlimited role to money, our country is more about ‘one dollar, one vote’ than ‘one person, one vote’,” he lamented.

“Make sure the ultra-rich just pay their share”

Gabriel Zucman, who advocates introducing a global tax of 2% on the wealth of the ultra-rich (more than 100 million euros), stressed that it was “not just an American problem”.

While his project was debated and finally rejected by French parliamentarians last year, he believes he sees the “beginning of an international movement (…) to finally ensure that the ultra-rich pay their fair share”. “All over the world we are carefully observing the current debates, what is being implemented, what was done in New York, considered as a model for the future,” he added.

It is the State of New York, and not the city, which can decide to increase income taxes on the wealthy. Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is not in favor. On the other hand, she proposed on Tuesday a surtax on second homes worth $5 million.