Will the Exodus from New York Accelerate?

You might say that it’s a game of chicken. The New York State legislature, inhabited by people who know nothing except to punish the rich, are proposing a massive tax increase. It’s in their new budget.

The New York City business community is threatening to pick up and leave the Big Apple. This includes the stock exchange and now, even high tech firms.

True enough, an exodus has already begun. Many large companies have already relocated or have planned to do so. Some are moving different divisions to Florida, to Tennessee or to Texas.

Now, the Daily Mail reports, higher taxes, coupled with more crime and decaying infrastructure could turn trickle into a flood. The story does not mention New York’s top of the line private schools, which have taken to indoctrinating children in the absurdities of critical race theory, but surely that plays a major role.

The Daily Mail tells the story:

Dozens of top companies in New York City are on the verge of departing for Florida, and the exodus may increase if the state legislature passes a proposed $7 billion tax hike, business leader say.

At least 20 finance and tech companies are already poised to leave the Big Apple for the Sunshine State, Kathyrn Wylde, CEO of the business-backed Partnership for New York City, told the New York Post. 

Among those considering a move to Florida are JetBlue Airways, which has been headquartered in Queens since its founding two decades ago, and Goldman Sachs, which maintains its head office at an upscale address in Lower Manhattan.

After surviving a year of pandemic fears, harsh restrictions on social activities, and soaring crime, business leaders say the massive proposed tax hike could be the final straw for many companies.

We have been hearing about financial service companies wanting to move out. Now technology firms may be reconsidering too. Between Facebook and Google, the tech world has been keeping the commercial real estate world afloat, with massive investments. What if they choose to decamp for warmer climes?

Both houses of New York's state legislature have proposed budgets that include nearly $7 billion in new and increased taxes on businesses and the rich. 

'New York State will be the most-taxed state in the country' if the proposals pass, Wylde lamented to the Post.

 

Technology jobs, many of which have been done as remote work for the past year now, are particularly vulnerable to relocation out of the expensive city.

'Technology is our most important job creator in New York right now, and they're already making decisions about not staying in New York,' Wylde said, declining to specify which companies are planning moves. 

As we all know, New York City and New York State will receive a boatload of stimulus money from the recent Biden administration stimulus bill. Yet, it will not be enough to make up the revenue shortfall, caused by those who have already left.

Now, the business community has spoken. We will see whether the state legislature sees reason.