Mayoral hopeful pitches pied-à-terre tax, says real estate interests “own” de Blasio

Democratic mayoral candidate Sal Albanese on Wednesday renewed calls for pied-à-terre tax, saying that absentee property owners should pay two or three times more in property taxes.

Albanese said that such a tax could bring the city billions of dollars in revenue, which could then be dedicated to the creation of affordable housing, Politico reported. A tax on pieds-à-terre — often owned by wealthy overseas investors looking for a safe place to park their cash — has been floated before. Mayor Bill de Blasio considered a proposal by State Senator Brad Hoylman in 2014, but the tax ultimately didn’t go through.

“Look, there’s a lot of money across the world that people want to outsource,” he said during a news conference outside the gates of City Hall. “There’s a lot of money there, and we can use that to build real affordable housing.”

The real estate industry has opposed increasing taxes for pied-à-terre owners, arguing that it would impact buyer sentiment and would deliver a devastating blow to the luxury market.

Albanese took a shot at the incumbent, saying “They own Bill de Blasio, big real estate does.” [Politico] — Kathryn Brenzel