Michael Novogratz, a Democrat who made his fortune in hedge funds, also warned that the tax-driven approach will be counterproductive.
“Wealthy people are willing to pay more tax, though it has to be fair,” said Novogratz, who now invests in digital currencies and in recent weeks has been a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter. “The biggest problem with the tax code is some groups pay and other don’t.”
The danger, Novogratz says, is that those who already pay a substantial share of New York taxes will move to lower-tax states, especially as the pandemic changes priorities.
There was already momentum toward leaving New York after the 2017 Republican tax overhaul created a $10,000 limit for state and local tax deductions, which hurt property owners. Covid-19, which makes lower-density living more attractive, is pushing hordes of others out, he added.
That’s a view shared by Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at New York University.
“No one knows in this climate how people are making location decisions,” Moss said. “We want to do everything possible to maintain people in New York rather than to encourage them to move to low-density or low-tax locations.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News. Berber Jin also contributed to this story.