250 CEOs and executives raise an “alarm” about the largest tax increase in New York history

A group of 250 CEOs and executives sent a letter to New York’s governor and lawmakers raising an “alarm” about what they believe could be the largest spending and tax increase in state history.

The letter, delivered to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democratic members of the state assembly and senate, urged politicians to delay any tax increases until the state and New York City have more fully recovered from the pandemic and workers return. As employers of more than 1.5 million people, executives said many of their employees have left the city and that if taxes rise, “they will vote with their feet.”

“Only about 10% of our colleagues are in the office and the future prospects of a densely populated urban workplace are uncertain,” the letter said. “Many members of our workforce have resettled their families in other locations, generally with much lower taxes than New York, and the proposed tax increases will make it more difficult to get them back.”

Signatories to the letters include Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Inc., Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla of Pfizer, CEO Jane Fraser of Citigroup and CEO Robin Hayes of JetBlue. The group said that “significant corporate and individual tax increases will make it much more difficult to reboot the economic engine and bring back together the deep and diverse talent pool that makes New York the largest city in the world.”

“This is not about companies threatening to leave the state; this is just about our people voting with their feet,” the letter said. “Ultimately, these new taxes can lead to a major loss of economic activity and income as companies are pressured to relocate their operations to where the talent wants to live and work. This is what happened to New York in the 1970s, when we lost half our fortune. 500 companies, and it took thirty years to recover. ”

Governor Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democratic members of the National Assembly and Senate have proposed a series of tax increases for businesses and high earners that could exceed $ 6 billion a year. They say the pandemic has increased inequality in New York and that higher taxes on businesses and high earners are needed to fund social programs and narrow the wealth gap.

Yet New York’s budget picture has recently improved. The state will receive $ 12.5 billion in unlimited funds from the federal stimulus bill, and New York State Director Robert Mujica said the stimulus funds and stronger-than-expected tax revenues would allow the state to avoid planned cuts.

The group said it understands the “urgent human needs” and inequalities exposed by the pandemic, but that any proposed tax increases or policy changes should come after New York’s recovery.

“Once we are on the road to recovering more than a million jobs and thousands of small businesses that New York has lost over the past twelve months, we may need to generate new revenue to fill the gaps in our education, health and social affairs. welfare systems, ”the letter stated.

Rebecca Bailin, Campaign Manager for Invest in Our New York, an effort to fund social programs by taxing the rich, said the letter was “250 wealthy people in their homes arguing for the status quo.”