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Chamber responds to Mayor Mamdani’s call for tax increases

January 28, 2026

 

Manhattan Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Jessica Walker, issued this statement in response to Mayor Mamdani’s Budget Address today:

"We watched Mayor Mamdani’s press conference today regarding the city's deepening budget crisis. The Chamber agrees that the fiscal challenges facing New York are severe and require urgent action. However, the proposal to increase taxes on the top 1% by another 2% is a diagnosis that misses the disease.

The budget shortfall is real, but trying to fill it by penalizing the city's most mobile tax base is a strategy that often backfires. If we make New York the most expensive place to do business in the nation, we won't just lose 'millionaires'—we will lose the future revenue needed to fund the very schools, transit, and services the Mayor is trying to protect.

We urge Albany to look at the math, not the politics. New York needs a wider tax base, not a higher tax rate. We stand ready to work with the administration on pro-growth solutions that solve the deficit without sacrificing our competitiveness."

 

In addition, a joint statement from the Five New York City Chambers of Commerce presidents was issued:

"Major tax increases are the wrong approach to addressing our city's affordability crisis. At a moment when the city is losing good-paying jobs, conversations about affordability must ensure that local job creators can afford to survive, grow, and hire across all five boroughs. We urge city and state leaders to pursue solutions that restore fiscal stability without undermining the businesses and workers who power New York City’s economy."

 

This was from: Lisa Sorin (Bronx Chamber of Commerce); Randy Peers (Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce); Jessica Walker (Manhattan Chamber of Commerce); Tom Grech (Queens Chamber of Commerce); and Linda Baran (Staten Island Chamber of Commerce)

 

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