AOC’s call for higher taxes on New York’s ‘top 5%’ would hit households earning more than $250K, analysis shows

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s recent call to raise taxes on New York’s highest-income 5 percent would hit households earning $250,000 or more, according to a new analysis.

The incendiary Democrat signed off on this a statement issued last month by the Democratic Socialists of New York City, calling on the city and state to “fund resources for all New Yorkers” by raising taxes on the top 5 percent.

In an analysis on monday for the Wall Street JournalTim Hoefer, the CEO of the conservative think tank Empire Center for Public Policy, accused the congressman of trying to redefine the term “empire.”

“Given the left’s previous focus on ‘the 1 percent,’ this is an important development,” he wrote.

Hoefer wrote that while the top 1 percent of New Yorkers earn nearly $1 million in adjusted gross income, the 5 percent threshold is just above $250,000 for a household, or a married couple, making about $127,000 each.

Hoefer argued that the $127,000 threshold would include many government workers, teachers, school administrators and first responders.

“The move from targeting the top 1 percent to the top 5 percent is a recognition that the socialist program, to borrow from Margaret Thatcher, risks running out of others’ money,” he wrote.

Ocasio-Cortez was one of 20 elected officials from New York who signed the Democratic Socialists’ recent statement, joining Senators Julia Salazar, Jabari Brisport and Kristen Gonzalez.

The statement sharply criticized Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, both Democrats, and accused them of a conspiracy.to cut social services and maintain the profits of their wealthy donors.’

The statement denounced “violent cuts” and called for “full funding of schools, higher education and health care.”

“We can pay for these public services by raising taxes on the top 5 percent of New Yorkers,” the group added, without providing further details.

Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the U.S. House representing parts of the Bronx and Queens, has no power to pass legislation at the state or local level but is a prominent and influential voice in progressive circles.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on September 28

The statement sharply criticized Governor Kathy Hochul (left) and Mayor Eric Adams (right), both Democrats, and accused them of making “violent budget cuts.”

The skyline of Lower Manhattan can be seen under the Blue Supermoon in August

Meanwhile, New York, which has among the highest marginal state income taxes, is already seeing an exodus of wealthy millennials, according to a new study.

The analysis released last week by a financial advice site Improved points found that New York lost the largest share of millennials who earned more than $200,000 in 2021.

New York’s population of wealthy millennials shrank by 27,191, a decline of 4.6 percent, wiping $8.3 billion from the state’s tax base, the study found.

The other states with the largest percentage declines in the wealthy millennial population were Illinois (-2.6 percent) and California (-2.3 percent).

Vermont had the largest relative increase, with 8.5 percent growth, followed by Idaho (7.4 percent) and Montana (6.7 percent).