Mayor: If city taxes rise, wealthy will flee

Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned today that many of New York’s wealthy residents will leave the city if taxes are raised under his successor. As a result, the city would see decreased tax revenue, Bloomberg said in his weekly radio show, reported on by DNAinfo.

“Most of my friends are committed to the city, but I know a lot of people who just don’t have that great feeling for New York,” he said. “Whether you think it’s right or not, the wealthy are mobile.”

According to Bloomberg’s numbers, about 1 percent of New York’s population paid 47 percent of city taxes.

Of course, that could spell doom for the city, where, as we noted yesterday, the only people who can afford to live its priciest borough are those who already do. The median rental price of a Manhattan apartment surged 10 percent year-over-year in September 2012, as we reported earlier this week. [DNAinfo] — Guelda Voien