Andrew Tobias Backs Higher NYC Taxes After Paying $350,000, Urges Thanks for the Wealthy
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jul 5
Andrew Tobias Backs Higher NYC Taxes After Paying $350,000, Urges Thanks for the Wealthy
2 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jul 5
Summary
$350,000 in 2025 city and state taxes did not deter Andrew Tobias, who said he would gladly pay more in New York City and argued rich taxpayers should be thanked rather than vilified.
The 79-year-old writer and Patriotic Millionaires member supports Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to tax the wealthy more heavily to help close budget gaps and fund free buses and universal childcare.
That debate has already produced a new pied-à-terre tax passed in May, more than doubling property taxes on second homes worth over $5 million.
Ken Griffin has denounced the policy as discriminatory after Mamdani highlighted his penthouse in a tax-promotion video, underscoring resistance from some wealthy New Yorkers.
Tobias’s stance carries extra irony: he once shifted his residence to Miami after a New York tax dispute, but moved back nearly 20 years ago and now says the city is worth supporting.