New York City has implemented a new tax on luxury properties valued at more than $5 million, targeting individuals who do not reside full-time within the city. Mayor Zohran Mamdani specifically highlighted hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin in an advertisement placed outside the building where Griffin owns a penthouse.
“This is an annual fee for luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city,” Mamdani stated. “Most of these units are sitting empty.”
He described the system as “fundamentally unfair” and claimed it would generate $500 million for the city.
Ezra Levant recently analyzed how this tax fails to generate sufficient revenue to fund Mayor Mamdani’s campaign promises, such as abolishing transit fees or establishing government-run grocery stores.
“You’ll notice he’s not going after the Republicans,” Levant said. “He’s not going after the former mayor or the governor. He just decided to pick on some guy who is rich and do a campaign ad right outside his building.”
Levant argued that both the tax and the ad are designed as “punishment, demonization and jealousy” tactics intended for young people disillusioned with capitalism.
The activist linked Mamdani’s actions to a growing trend among radical left-wing politicians and commentators. He described this trend as part of a pattern supporting figures like accused killer Luigi Mangione.
“That kind of violence is no longer forbidden in social circles,” Levant remarked, citing the popular support for Mangione or those who celebrated the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk or the assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.
