Major New York firms that resisted it through the pandemic are now considering packing for more than $ 7 billion in proposed new state taxes.
At least 20 financial and technology companies are ready to leave for sunny, low-tax Florida, said Kathyrn Wylde, CEO of New York Business Collaboration.
“Legislature proposals will move us in the opposite direction, moving away from businesses and the tax base needed to do so,” said the powerful chairman of the New York Real Estate Board, James Whelan.
If the Democratic-controlled state legislature approves its proposed $ 208 billion tax and spending plan, “New York State will be the most taxed state in the country,” Wylde lamented.
Technology jobs (so easily changeable to “remote” in 2020) are particularly vulnerable to relocation. “Technology is our most important job creator in New York right now and they are already making decisions about not staying in New York,” said Wylde, who rejected the namesake.
Albany’s police appear intent on “punishing the rich,” Wylde said.
And the cold new fiscal climate may also mean high-income New Yorkers fleeing the city temporarily for places like Palm Beach will not return. “We can’t take it for granted that millionaires and multimillionaires return to New York.” Wylde said.
Wall Street big names have already threatened to pack up if Albany enacts a stock transfer tax, which is proposed on an active bill. The state would claim a percentage of the revenue from each purchase or sale of stock or any other value, depending on the measure.
“While New York has remained a center of gravity for the financial industry, many employees of Wall Street companies emigrate to Florida, Texas and other states with inpatient tax policies,” said Stacey Cunningham, president of the New York Stock Exchange, wrote last month in a Wall Street Journal.
“The New York Stock Exchange belongs to New York. However, if Albany’s legislators get their way, it is possible that the center of the global financial industry will have to find a new home, ”he warned.
A Nasdaq spokesman sent no message about his plans.
The CEO of Manhattan-based high-frequency trader Virtu Financial, Douglas Cifu, has called a transfer tax a fool.
“We have an office in Florida and we would just leave New York State,” he said during a earnings call in February. “We would never pay for any state in New York [stock-transfer] tax. “
Cifu added that the Texas legislature is considering banning “any type of transaction tax.”
Goldman Sachs is considering relocating its asset management business to Florida, establishing offices in Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, according to reports. A Goldman representative told The Post Friday, “We’re running the strategy of locating more jobs in high-value locations in the United States, but we have no specific plans to advertise at this time.”
State Sen. Alexis Weik, a Long Island Republican, said, “Instead of focusing on keeping New Yorkers in New York, these irresponsible fiscal and spending policies will continue to drive our residents out of the state.” .
The exodus may not be limited to economic resource companies whose workers do business using a laptop.
New York City’s hometown airline JetBlue said in a March 11 note to employees obtained by The Post that it was “exploring” to move “a certain number of roles to existing support centers in Florida.” .
Whelan, of REBNY, offered a final judgment prediction if tax hikes happen:
“We have been on this road before. In the 1960s and 1970s, these policies discouraged investment in New York City and led to a shrinking tax base and fewer resources for government service delivery. The results were devastating: two decades of fiscal problems coupled with an increase in crime and an unacceptable quality of life. “