Pity the Persecuted Billionaires

A proposal for a so-called "Pied-a-Terre" tax has rich people attempting to launder their money through New York real estate crying foul.

Pied-a-Terre is a tax on non primary residences, and in this case, and it would apply to purchases greater than $5 million.

Needless to say, real estate developers are completely losing their sh%$ over this:

New York’s pied-a-terre tax, left for dead earlier this year, is back on the table and the real estate industry is gearing up for a fight.

Fresh off imposing an increased “mansion tax” and eliminating privacy protections favored by well-heeled buyers, state lawmakers are reviving efforts to tax second-home purchases of $5 million or more.

There’s a growing desire among Democrats to address wealth inequality, and for them, the idea of slapping an annual tax on the uber rich who scoop up Manhattan apartments is long overdue. But for William Zeckendorf, whose firm built some of the city’s most expensive condo towers, the proposal is the wrong idea at the wrong time.

He and other developers -- and the lawyers, appraisers and brokers who cater to millionaire clients -- argue that going after pied-a-terre buyers would further dent demand in the already struggling luxury real estate market. Thousands of new high-end condos are on their way, adding to a glut, and takers for them have all but disappeared. New rules that promote a political environment where buyers feel targeted would push even more of them away, Zeckendorf said.

Zeckendorf's clients use city roads, bridges, and services, but they do not pay city income tax.

F%$# Zeckendorf, and f%$# his clients.

New mansion and transfer tax surcharges, which took effect July 1, will raise an estimated $365 million annually, dedicated to shoring up the city’s crumbling transportation system. But there are more public-spending needs, and it makes sense for people who can afford the most expensive apartments to help foot the tab, said State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat.

Hoylman has been trying to pass a pied-a-terre tax since the heady condo boom days of 2014, when high-end buyers from other countries thought nothing of sheltering their millions in the safe harbor of Manhattan apartments.

“They use our system of laws to protect their international investment in real estate, and I think there should be a premium on that,” said Hoylman, who hasn’t yet released a revised version of the bill. “This is a way to capture that purchasing power and use it for some common good.”

Indeed.

If this can help stop New York from becoming London, where whole blocks are full of mansions that are empty most of the year.