Tax increase for New Yorkers? Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn't rule it out, in apparent shift

Just days after winning her reelection bid, Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t ruling out the possibility of a tax hike for New Yorkers.

While Hochul, a Democrat, never completely eliminated the chance it could happen during the campaign, she did downplay the possibility she would raise taxes if reelected. On Oct. 27, exactly one week before Election Day, Hochul told NBC New York “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. All I know is my position is I don’t want — I will not raise taxes. I’m very clear on that.”

But on Friday, three days after her landslide victory, there was a notable shift, as she implied a tax increase could be on the table specifically to pay for free child care.

“I will work hard to manage within our existing resources, but if we need more, we will find a path, as I’ve done before when there’s a particular need. A very specific need,” Hochul said, before discussing the need to fund the city’s universal childcare program, which is budgeted until 2028. ⁠

Throughout the campaign, Hochul’s opponent, Republican Bruce Blakeman, warned that Hochul would raise taxes, saying “that’s what she does.”

While she downplayed that notion on the campaign trail, Hochul on Friday said it should not surprise New Yorkers if she were to pass a dedicated tax to raise revenue for a “specific” purpose.

“I’ve always operated that way. This is not a newsflash,” the governor said when asked if potential income tax increases were on the table.

Hochul made the comments while at the SOMOS political conference in Puerto Rico alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has long pushed for taxing the rich. The governor listed the new pied-a-terre tax and the MTA payroll mobility tax she designed to help the city and the MTA with budget crises.

With revenues coming into state coffers that are far ahead of past projections, Hochul was asked whether spending could be cut instead of adding a tax.

“I don’t raise taxes for the sake of raising taxes. I’ve said that many times and that’s not gonna happen with me but I’ve pointed out examples where the need was so great that something had to happen,” she said.

The president of the fiscal watchdog Citizens Budget Commission told News 4 in a statement that “tax revenues are flowing into New York state like gangbusters. We have enough money to stabilize the budget and fund critical services including child care assistance for families who need it if we make smart choices with our money.”

Hochul did not say a tax increase would definitely happen, but did imply there was some plan in the works.

“I’m gonna take the time over next few weeks to put some touches on our path forward, so stay tuned for the State of the State 2027,” she said.

The governor also implied her roughly 20-point margin of victory in the gubernatorial election serves as a mandate from New Yorkers to continue her affordability agenda including universal child care. Though it is important to note that the margin of victory was fueled by additional factors aside from her agenda, including opposition to President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.