Wilbur Ross says New York’s pied-à-terre tax targets people who ‘can’t retaliate at the ballot box’
Source: Fortune ·
The former Commerce secretary and Steve Wynn are suing the state over annual bills of $83,531 and $183,094 on their Manhattan homes.
From the source
This week’s been rough for proponents of New York City’s pied-à-terre tax. On Monday, former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross filed a lawsuit against the state, calling the tax unconstitutional. On Tuesday, a judge ruled the city had to rollback the notices it sent out to property owners and all but basically start over. It follows a hectic rollout, coupled with threats and warnings that the young mayor’s video announcing the tax outside of billionaire Ken Griffin’s house would lead to the ouster of high-price items from the city. Those threats never formed. What did, however, were the lawsuits. Ross on Monday joined a growing list of people who are suing either the city or the state over the tax. In an interview with Fortune, Ross said the new tax on luxury second homes targets the one group of owners who can’t vote against it. “They don’t want voter retribution for taxes at the ballot box, so they impose these taxes on people who have no way to defend themselves,” Ross said. “That’s…