Billy Joel has become New York’s canary in the mineshaft.
He didn’t need to use one of his memorable lyrics to send us a clear and unmistakable message. He’s got one foot outta here.
Is anyone in Albany listening?
While he says he is not leaving the Empire State, he has put his exclusive $49 million Centre Island mansion up for sale, announced he is done with concerts at Madison Square Garden, and told the press, “I’m just spending a little more time down in Florida like all Jewish guys do from New York City so it’s really not that much news.”
Uh huh.
In truth, Billy Joel appears to be doing what many high-net worth New Yorkers are doing in a state whose legislature believes there is absolutely no limit to tax and spend. We may not want to admit it, but Billy Joel is among those “moving out,” part of an exodus that we literally can’t afford.
With New York’s political future now in the hands of the progressives, our wealthiest residents are viewed as capitalists worthy of a mugging. As a result, reports suggest that some 1,453 millionaire taxpayers ordered moving vans and departed our state in 2021. The Internal Revenue Service previously reported that about 300,000 of New York City’s wealthiest residents who left the city in 2020 collectively earned $21 billion in total income in 2021. These are staggering numbers that have ominous implications for those of us who remain.
Ironically, those making fewer dollars have considered whether they wish to remain in a New York state of mind. Data reveals that the number of New Yorkers earning between $150,000 and $750,000 dropped by approximately 6% between the years 2019 and 2020. That means those people who wanted to become wealthy recognized that Albany would insist on taking a considerable cash share of their hard work.
All of this reveals a hemorrhaging economic wound New York literally can’t afford. New York City, which monitors its economic data closely, found that 41,000 residents in the top 1% pay more than 40% of all income taxes. The same report also reveals that another two-thirds is paid by about 450,000 individuals in the top 10%. The remaining 90% pay the final third of the tax bill.
Those departing read like an uber-wealthy list of who’s who. In 2020, billionaire Carl Icahn said he left his hometown of New York to escape its tax burden. Other billionaires who fled the state include Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.
Billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross, (worth around $12 billion), is quoted as saying, “It’s tax issues, and there’s the security issues.” He told media recently he is expanding his operations in Florida.
One of the more insightful critics of Albany’s progressive agenda, EJ McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy, has long suggested it is open season on New York’s high-income individuals who pay significant taxes. He observed that in 2010, New York State had 12.7% of the nation’s income millionaires. He notes that by 2019, the state’s share of million-dollar earners went below 10% and dropped again in 2020 to 8.9%.
Not surprisingly, The New York Times has sought to downplay the exodus. Recent coverage notes the loss, but suggests, `there are still plenty of other millionaires’ in New York. The Times quotes its chosen sources as saying, essentially, there is nothing new here. People come to New York to make their fortune, age out, and then depart.
That type of spin deliberately avoids the question why? Why do the wealthy, who have donated to hospitals and museums, supported the arts, and invested heavily in our metro region, feel compelled to leave? It’s not because of the early bird special in Boca or poker at the clubhouse outside of Charleston.
It is because of a progressive political agenda that has made being successful a target of opportunity.
To borrow again from Billy Joel, “We didn’t start the fire.” Albany did, and we all will be scorched by their ideology.
Ronald Rosenberg, a graduate of St. John’s University Law School and resident of Old Westbury, is senior founding partner of Rosenberg, Calica & Birney LLP, a Garden City law firm.
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