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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul indicated that the Empire State needs wealthy individuals paying taxes in the state to help fund social programs, but noted that the state’s tax base has “eroded.”
During remarks at Politico’s “New York Agenda: Albany Summit” event last week, the Democratic governor explained that she needs individuals with a “high net worth to support the generous social programs that we wanna have in our state.”
She highlighted the issue by suggesting that wealthy individuals should visit Palm Beach, Florida, to “see who you can bring back home, because our tax base has been eroded.”
Hochul explained that New York is “in competition with other states who have less of a tax burden on their corporations and their individuals. And I would say remote work changed everything,” she added.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a news conference at the WIN NYC family shelter in New York on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hochul said that “Wall Street businesses looking at Texas” are moving due to taxes.
“We have to be smart about this,” she said, adding that “We can fund what we want to fund with what we already are taking in.”
Hochul is running for re-election this year.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, is also running in the gubernatorial contest.
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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is formally named the GOP candidate for New York governor as the New York Republican State Committee Nominating Convention ends at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, N.Y., on Feb. 11, 2026. (Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
“Kathy Hochul finally discovered what New Yorkers already know,” Blakeman said in a statement obtained by Digital. “When you raise taxes, drive up the cost of living, make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings, people leave. Apparently Hochul’s new economic development strategy is to ask them politely to come back.”
“Palm Beach is lovely this time of year, but I’m not sure former New Yorkers will be eager to trade sunshine, no state income tax, and sanity for the highest taxes in the nation under Kathy Hochul — especially while Zohran Mamdani proposes a massive death tax hike. He wants to start taxing inheritances as low as $750,000 and take up to half of what families leave behind. That’s a tough sell.”
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is joined by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at an event in Brooklyn to support more housing construction in New York City on Feb. 10, 2026, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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“Here’s a revolutionary idea: cut taxes, make New York affordable, and people might actually stay. That’s what I’ll do as governor,” he noted.
Blakeman’s campaign said his affordability plan includes “the largest middle-class tax cut in New York State history that will eliminate state personal income tax on the first $50,000 of income for single filers and the first $100,000 for joint filers.”
“Blakeman will also reduce property taxes by 10% and cut utility bills in half by cutting county and state mandates and taxes on energy,” his campaign added.
Digital reached out to Hochul’s press office and to her campaign to request comment on Thursday.
