A tax on high-end luxury apartments in New York City is floundering in the state budget. The proposal, known as the pied-à-terre tax would impose additional fees on apartments worth more than $5 million dollars that are not the owner’s primary residence.
The idea recently gained support among Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democrats who lead the state legislature, as a way of helping fund the struggling public transit system.
Manhattan Senator Brad Hoylman, who first proposed the tax back in 2014, says it could bring in $600 million dollars a year, but he says the real estate industry is pushing back.
“We’re calling it the pied- a- scare tax because the real estate industry has been up in the halls of Albany trying to scare legislators out of supporting g it,” Hoylman said.
Governor Cuomo, speaking on WNYC’s the Brian Lehrer Show, says the tax is not losing momentum, but he says he would agree to increase the real estate transfer tax instead if there’s more support for that proposal instead.
