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The major New York businesses that toughened it up during the pandemic are now planning to pack their bags for more than $ 7 billion in proposed new state taxes.
At least 20 financial and tech companies are already set to leave for sunny, low-tax Florida, said Kathyrn Wylde, CEO of the Business-Backed Partnership for New York City.
“The Legislative Assembly’s proposals will take us in the opposite direction in driving out the businesses and the tax base necessary to do so,” said powerful New York Real Estate Board Speaker James Whelan.
If the Democratic-controlled state legislature passes its proposed $ 208 billion tax and spending plan, “New York state will be the most taxed state in the country,” Wylde lamented.
Tech jobs – so easily moved to “distant” in 2020 – are particularly vulnerable to offshoring. “Tech is our biggest job creator in New York right now, and they’re already making decisions not to stay in New York,” Wylde said, declining to name names.
The Poles in Albany appear to intend to “punish the rich,” Wylde said.
And the new cold fiscal climate could also mean that high-income New Yorkers who have temporarily fled the city for places like Palm Beach may not return. “We cannot take for granted that millionaires and billionaires will return to New York.” Said Wylde.
Big names on Wall Street have already threatened to pack their bags if Albany passes a stock transfer tax, which is proposed in an active bill. The state would claim a percentage of the proceeds of each purchase or sale of shares, or other collateral, under the measure.
“While New York has remained a center of gravity for the financial sector, many employees of Wall Street companies are migrating to Florida, Texas and other states with hospitable tax policies,” Stacey Cunningham, chairman of the Stock Exchange from New York, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last month.
“The New York Stock Exchange is owned by New York. If Albany lawmakers are successful, however, the center of the global financial industry may need to find a new home, ”she warned.
A Nasdaq spokesperson did not return a message about his plans.
Manhattan-based high-frequency trader Virtu Financial CEO Douglas Cifu called a tax on stock transfers “stupid”.
“We have an office in Florida, and we would just move out of New York State,” he said on an earnings call in February. “We would never pay New York State anything [stock-transfer] tax.”
Cifu added that the Texas legislature was considering banning “any type of transaction tax.”
Goldman Sachs plans to relocate its asset management business to Florida, opening offices in Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, according to reports. A Goldman representative told The Post on Friday, “We are implementing the strategy of locating more jobs in high value locations across the United States, but we have no specific plans to announce at this time. . “
State Senator Alexis Weik, a Republican from Long Island, said: “Rather than focusing on keeping New Yorkers in New York, these irresponsible tax and spending policies will continue to drive out our residents. of State.
The exodus may not be limited to companies with low assets whose workers work on laptops.
New York City airline JetBlue said in a March 11 memo to employees obtained by The Post that it was “exploring” the transfer “of an to be determined number of roles to existing support centers in Florida”.
Whelan, of REBNY, offered an apocalyptic prediction if the tax hikes will unfold:
“We have already taken this route. In the 1960s and 1970s, these policies ultimately discouraged investment in New York City and led to a reduced tax base and fewer resources for the delivery of government services. The results have been devastating – two decades of financial problems accompanied by increased crime and an unacceptable quality of life. “
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