Mansion Tax

LOL, you're adorable, Curious.

When has NYC *ever* rescinded a tax?

Pay.

curious.... nyc is not just the island that you're affraid to leave. there's plenty out there that's less then $1M.

Not much, though.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/27506-west-village-5th-floor-walk-up-for-1000sf

$900K gets you a bedroom and a "den" in a five-floor walk-up.

For 250K you can get an impressive home in Autin, but then, do you want to? Mansion tax was created when a mansion would have cost a million. Maybe it could be changed to the term Gate house Tax. Mayboe the mansion amount could be raised 3 to 5 million keeping with the inflation since it's inception.

Calling it 'mansion tax' really cracks me up--so throw-backy to the days when a million bucks could actually get you a 'mansion' here in Manhattan and millionaires were considered absurdly wealthy.

These days the Happiest Millionaire, Daddy Warbucks and Thurston-Howell-The-Thuuurd would be nothing more than working class shmos living in cramped convertible twos.

Pay.

Gov't needs the money.
Lots of talk against tax breaks
Mortgage tax deduction being questioned.

I'd say chances are between slim & nil

Why not just have a tax for being below 96th Street?

"Gov't needs the money."

That's the point.

Gov't needs to learn to live with less, like the rest of us have.

What you might see is a change in the formula, so that the surcharge for high-priced properties phases in more gradually. The abrupt jump from $0 to $10K at the $1MM price point encourages parties to evade the tax by finding ways to record a price just under $1MM.

i don't have less--and i accept that i must pay greater tax, based on my good luck

agree that the "mansion" tax needs to be brought up to date and changed so that it is imposed on a scale--

just as top fed income tax bracket should be way greater than 250K--should be several brackets beyond 250K, extending potentially to the 5mm mark

They can just triple the mansion tax, then rebate part of it for full-time NYS residents.

... after, say, five years of filing as a resident.

dream on alan..makes sense to me, but the city just isnt about those of us who live here..real estate/developer lobby too powerful to allow anything that would restrict or render non-resident purchases more costly--residents already occupy--the reside in one home, whether bought or rented--residents cant add to buyers' pool--outsiders do

Yeah, me and Aerosmith both.

I think there should be NO (ok fine - "low") taxes nor any subsidies and let the free market self govern. The city has enough money - it just needs to find better way of managing it.

"i don't have less--and i accept that i must pay greater tax, based on my good luck"

Well *I* don't have less, either (I was speaking collectively) but "good luck" didn't play into my finances like yours apparently did (lottery winnings? gambling?).

That doesn't mean government is entitled to a greater share.

CuriousNYC, you just described most of the world's poorest countries ... is that really what you want?

Matt, unemployment is always "good luck".

Actually, Alan, it's not.

Curious, I totally agree.

One of the ways New York can start better managing its finances is cracking down on the widespread food stamp fraud. How is it that people who can't speak English (and are therefore illegal aliens) are using food stamps?

The citizenship test is only administered in English.

your posts are so rich, matt--

and i get it, it's because of your superior intelligence, savvy and hard work that finances are so rich too--the finances that provide for your shithole coop walkup, of which you are board pres

Alan - I don't think Hong Kong, Dubai, Brunei are exactly world's poorest countries (city) and they have really low taxes.

Matt - the generalization and accusation of food stamp users is borderline racist. Not cool man.

Agreed that it would be best to have a phase-in for a "mansion" tax that escalates as you get towards truly exceptional properties. What the current regulation does is incent sellers hovering around that $1m mark to price their properties just below seven figures, in the hopes of saving buyers that tax at little cost to the seller (presuming of course, the property isn't worth significantly more than $1m). It's kind of dopey, but unlikely to change, I'd guess.

"and i get it, it's because of your superior intelligence, savvy and hard work that finances are so rich too--the finances that provide for your shithole coop walkup, of which you are board pres"

More run-ins, bottoms? What a classy guy/gal...

NYC Matt, response to your first comments. "Mansion Tax" is a state transfer tax, not a city transfer tax. On the same line, the answer to your question regarding a similar tax is 1996 when the Real Property Transfer Gains Tax (a/k/a the Cuomo Tax - Mario, not Andy) was repealed. 1996 was a tough time too so it is not inconceivable that the "Mansion Tax" will be revamped at some point too.