Sen. Rick Scott criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after the mayor unveiled a budget proposal that includes potential tax increases on high-income earners and corporations, accusing him of advancing what Scott characterized as a familiar socialist approach to governance.
“Surprise, surprise… it took Mamdani less than 3 months to demand a massive tax hike.” Scott wrote in a post. “It’s the same old story where socialists promise everything for ‘free,’ then demand hardworking Americans pay the price. Socialism NEVER works.”
Surprise, surprise… it took Mamdani less than 3 months to demand a massive tax hike.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 18, 2026
It’s the same old story where socialists promise everything for “free,” then demand hardworking Americans pay the price. Socialism NEVER works. https://t.co/b354WKgScB
Scott’s comments came in response to Mamdani’s presentation of New York City’s Fiscal Year 2027 preliminary budget, which outlines two potential paths to close a projected multibillion-dollar deficit while complying with the city’s legal requirement to balance its books.
During his budget address, Mamdani said the city faces a structural fiscal imbalance that must be addressed to prevent recurring financial crises. “As the mayor of New York City, I have a legal obligation to balance the budget. I will meet that obligation,” Mamdani said, adding that his administration would govern with “seriousness, responsibility, and accountability.”
Mamdani says if Hochul doesn't allow NYC to raise taxes on corporations and highest earners, he will raise property taxes on New York City homeowners. pic.twitter.com/Bm07LxS9OH
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 17, 2026
The first option, which Mamdani described as the “most sustainable and the fairest path,” would require action from state lawmakers in Albany. Under that proposal, the state would approve a 2 percent increase in personal income taxes on approximately 33,000 city residents earning more than $1 million annually, along with higher corporate taxes on the most profitable companies. Mamdani argued that those with the greatest financial resources should shoulder more of the burden in resolving the city’s deficit.
“The onus for resolving this crisis should not be placed on the backs of working- and middle-class New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. He warned that failing to fix the structural imbalance would result in the crisis “return[ing] year after year, forcing harder and harsher choices each time.”
If state lawmakers decline to approve the proposed tax increases, Mamdani said the city would be forced to rely on measures within municipal control. That second path would include raising property taxes and drawing down reserves, including nearly $1 billion from the city’s rainy day fund in fiscal year 2026 and hundreds of millions more from the Retiree Health Benefit Trust in fiscal year 2027. Mamdani described that alternative as “painful,” noting that property tax increases would significantly affect working- and middle-class New Yorkers, whose median income he placed at $122,000.
JUST IN: "We are forced to raid the rainy day fund, the retiree health benefits trust reserve, and to increase property taxes" — NYC Mayor Mamdani pic.twitter.com/LenWB0zCNl
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) February 17, 2026
“There is no third option of failing to balance the budget,” Mamdani said, referencing the legal mandate established after the city’s 1970s fiscal crisis that requires a balanced budget.
Scott’s remarks reflect broader national criticism of Mamdani’s emphasis on taxing high earners. Mamdani, who is New York City’s first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor, first African-born mayor and youngest mayor in more than a century, has maintained that his budget proposal is aimed at protecting working New Yorkers from bearing the costs of a deficit they did not create. In announcing a state aid package alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, he said, “Working New Yorkers did not create this budget crisis and they should not be the ones to pay for it.”
The debate now shifts to Albany, where state lawmakers will determine whether to adopt the proposed tax increases or leave the city to pursue property tax hikes and reserve withdrawals to close the remaining $5.4 billion gap. As that decision looms, Scott’s criticism underscores the national political dimension that has emerged around New York City’s fiscal strategy and the broader question of how governments should address budget shortfalls.
