Last month, Chicago hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin spent $238 million on a condo in New York City. It was the most expensive home ever sold in the US (but only one piece of Griffin’s massive, luxury real estate portfolio).
Good for Ken… he’s incredibly wealthy and can spend his money however he wants. But most of society hates this kind of behavior.
Even if a guy has earned $10 billion through hard work and ingenuity, they don’t believe he can spend it freely… and those feelings have only been growing recently with the widening wealth gap and the rising, leftist presidential contenders.
He’ll no doubt pay millions of dollars a year in real estate taxes and employ a team of people just to manage that property… and his investment firm, Citadel, has an office in NYC employing hundreds of people.
But NYC wants more, specifically for Griffin to pay more tax to fund the city’s affordable housing program.
Griffin’s purchase was the perfect backdrop for the government to bring up the “pied-a-terre tax”… the proposed tax would be up to 4% per year for people who own properties above $5 million in NYC but don’t permanently reside there.
So Griffin would be out an extra $9 million a year (on top of the 1% mansion tax New Yorkers already pay on home purchases above $1 million – mind you, $1 million in New York gets you a few hundred square feet)… and normal real estate taxes.
It’s an all-out war on the rich in New York… because the city (and state) are broke. The city is expecting a $1 billion shortfall this year. Never mind that NYC is already one of the most expensive and highest-taxed cities in the country (and 50% of the city’s taxes are currently paid by 1% of the population)…
Mayor Bill “brothers and sisters” de Blasio wants the rich to pay even more. Never mind they just initiated a $2.50 “congestion tax” on taxis, so it costs over $6 just to get in a taxi… and some politician running for local office wants to double the just-increased minimum wage to $30/hour… the answer from the government’s perspective is always MORE.
Only one problem with trying to squeeze every last drop out of the wealthy… If things get bad enough, guys like Griffin will leave. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (who faces a $2.3 billion shortfall in his state budget) recently alluded to this in a press conference…
“There is a tipping point where people say, ‘I love New York, but to spend another $300,000 in taxes? I’ll move.’” But the rich are already flocking in droves… since 2007, New York and California lost 2.2 million residents to lower-tax states. And the pace is accelerating (one economic group expects them to lose another 800,000 residents in the next three years).
Hey, at least NYC is still the financial capital of the US… and businesses will always flock there for its top talent and global appeal… Not so fast… the hatred toward the rich has grown so extreme that New York is telling big business to go somewhere else.
You probably remember Amazon’s nationwide search for “HQ2”… the company started a national bidding process where cities could offer incentives in return for Amazon bringing tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and everything else that goes along with building a massive headquarters.
NYC politicians, including our favorite, AOC, are telling Amazon to take a hike. They don’t want the retailer to come in to the city and push up real estate prices (Amazon also said it won’t support unions). Nevermind that the majority of New Yorkers are for it.
And Amazon is seriously considering leaving. That would cost the already-broke city an estimated $27.5 billion in tax revenues over the next 25 years.
Ethan Allen
Good, fuck the city
Ayden Ramirez
But math doesn’t come into the equation. It’s silly, ideological grandstanding that is now commonplace with the rising socialists. And it’s more harmful than just Amazon potentially leaving… it doesn’t send a good message for future companies considering New York as a place to do business.
So New York City needs money to plug its budget shortfall. But it’s actively chasing out the rich people that will happily pay their absurd taxes. This is insanity. Next door in New Jersey (which has lost two million residents between 2005-2014), the situation isn’t any better.
They’re so desperate, they want to tax RAINFALL. If you own a building with a large, paved surface (like a driveway or parking lot), the state wants to tax you because your property is responsible for storm water runoff.
Logic doesn’t fit into the equation anymore. It’s simply desperate, broke governments clawing for pennies and angry idealists who want to eat the rich. And this trend is only going to get worse. You can expect more socialist rhetoric, more proposals to creatively tax the evil rich and more outright damnation of success over the next two years (and potentially longer depending on who takes the presidency).
The smart people have already started voting with their feet, moving to lower-tax states. A good place to start is Puerto Rico. I don’t think there’s anywhere better for a productive person who wants to enjoy the fruits of their labor (with Act 20 and Act 22, you can legally reduce your corporate taxes to 4%, and your capital gains and dividend taxes to 0%).
All while living on the beach.
Remember, Puerto Rico had to hit rock bottom before implementing these incentives. I’d guess New York won’t be far behind… but I doubt they’ll make things friendlier for productive people.
Kayden Barnes
>not an American How do you know all of this? I couldn't tell you one damn thing about your country's politics.
Real estate is a great way to make passive income. You rent the space for some great profits, it can easily pay off a 30y mortgage + nice, expectable income.
1.) Finland doesnt exist 2.) The way this is written, you can tell this is copy and paste from a website or blog
Benjamin Rodriguez
>earned $10 billion through hard work and ingenuity Nobody gets that kind of money by his own hard work. They get it by the hard work of their employees and customers.
Parker Cruz
If you are not rich you are a cuck (first time I write this word). If you are rich you are shameless.
Gabriel Moore
No, more Democrat voters.
Angel Thomas
NYC is a rat-infested shithole, I don't understand why anyone would want to live there.
Just because the law allows you to make that much money doesn't mean you should nor does it mean you deserve it. Who aspires to be a hedge fund manager? Nobody. It's a job that crooked assholes seek because they know they can siphon off other people's money.
William Reyes
awful table placement
Benjamin Green
New Yorker here. Some socialist local politicians really drummed up support amongst their constituents, convincing them that the 2b in amazon tax incentives was a "give-away." Though they never cared to explain that said 2b was an investment that was going to yield us 10b dollars in tax revenue over the next ten years and 10k+ jobs. If this city is so ideologically volatile that it's turning away business, we really are in dire straits. Can't be surprised though, third world people behave in third world ways. The more third world the citizenry becomes, the more third world this city will resemble. Our status as the financial capital is the dam holding back the flood of detroitification, and it's beginning to fracture under the pressure.
Thanks for taking notice, finnanon.
David Torres
There is a Money River, where the wealth of the nation flows. We were born on the banks of it—and so were most of the mediocre people we grew up with, went to private schools with, sailed and played tennis with. We can slurp from that mighty river to our heart’s content. And we can even take slurping lessons, so we can slurp more efficiently.
[We learn from] lawyers! From tax consultants! From customers’ men! We’re born close enough to the river to drown ourselves and the next ten generations in wealth, simply using buckets and dippers. But we still hire the experts to teach us the use of aqueducts, dams, reservoirs, siphons, bucket brigades, and the Archimedes’ screw. And our teachers in turn become rich, and their children become buyers of lessons in slurping.
Parker Young
keep wrecking the world, asshole. Who are you going to rent to? Instagram thots who exploit vulnerable men? Landlords are 99% assholes because none of them are in it for the business, they're in it for the massive returns because of weak laws due to a captured government.
Jackson Wright
>Because Americans are retards Every time. It's because we don't care and don't have to because nobody else matters.
I can't wait until this city goes bankrupt and our local pols are forced to choose between their salaries and their dumb pet projects like medicare for illegals and $100 a night hotels for homeless niggers.
Let the ship sink and starve the beast.
Colton Brooks
Shut up, paki faggot
Kayden Miller
bro nyc isn't the same as it used to be.
Levi Wilson
>Griffin bought the space raw, which means that even after paying $238 million, Griffin will likely spend millions more to design, build and furnish the home.
What the fuck?
Alexander Sanchez
Why should I give a shit about some fag being taxed on a piece of shit condo he bought for too much money in a horrible city that he doesn't actually plan to stay in? >If things get bad enough, guys like Griffin will leave. Fine. >That would cost the already-broke city an estimated $27.5 billion in tax revenues over the next 25 years. Good.
Brandon Rivera
Hey I lived in CO before our AIDs/spics/GDP spike and, uh. You can have the GDP back. Just take the trappings with it. It was not that bad in the 90's. I'll take not being a cultural hub anymore.
Jordan Hill
It's a status symbol.
Ian James
A quarter BILLION for a fucking CONDO?? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Andrew Thompson
Jew dork
Matthew Allen
True Coloradans are all redpilled as fuck. Growing up was kinda like South Park.
