A dramatic shift in tax policy under Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio is unlikely, superbroker Dolly Lenz said on CNBC’s Squawk the Street.
De Blasio, who expressed plans to tax the rich to underwrite universal pre-kindergarten and expand the city’s affordable housing supply, has tempered his own statements with promises to avoid “overtaxing the golden goose” — a reference to the city’s real estate industry.
“I personally think that the mayor will take under advisement how that impacts all the industries, jobs the real estate industry creates, taxes that the real estate industry brings in. It’s a huge industry in New York and you can’t underestimate it,” Lenz said.
Checks and balances, such as the state legislature, will also hem any dramatic shifts in tax policy, she added — as will the desire of New Yorkers themselves to live in an economically vibrant city.
Everyone wants to be in “a New York that’s flourishing … and that’s where we are now,” Lenz said. “That’s why I don’t think anyone will kill the goose that laid the golden egg.” [CNBC] — Julie Strickland