Statement attributable to Moses Gates, VP of Housing and Neighborhood Planning at RPA

Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan recommended the municipalities with a residential vacancy rate below 5% should institute a pied-a-terre tax. If properly implemented, this policy can both raise needed funds for the City’s budget and help address housing scarcity by discouraging absentee ownership. Absentee owners of valuable real estate benefit from the City’s public investments in infrastructure and services without appropriately contributing to the public coffers. While we haven’t seen details of the current budget proposal, a tax on properties worth more than $5 million whose owners are not living full-time in New York City would raise funds and encourage more people to domicile in the City, both of which would be beneficial outcomes.

A pied-a-terre tax is not a substitute for comprehensive property tax reform, something which is supported by a very wide range of elected officials and civic organizations, including RPA. However, it is one of many needed changes - several of which have been outlined in RPA’s 2019 report on NYC property taxes, the findings of the NYC Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform, and other reports. We hope this will be a first step to bringing a more equitable and rational property tax system to New York City overall.