ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochul is urging affluent New Yorkers who have left the state to return, emphasizing the importance of their contributions to New York’s financial health.

In response to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for increased income taxes, Hochul expressed her desire to retain wealthy residents in the city and attract those who have relocated to states with more favorable business climates, such as Florida.

“Perhaps the first step is to head down to Palm Beach and see who we can persuade to come back because our tax base has been diminished,” the Democratic governor remarked during a forum organized by Politico last week.

“We are in a competition with other states that impose a lighter tax burden on their businesses and citizens,” she explained.

In recent weeks, Hochul has reiterated this stance as Mamdani and his progressive colleagues push for higher income taxes to fund their legislative agenda and address the $5.4 billion budget shortfall the city reportedly faces.

While negotiating her own expansive $263 billion budget proposal, Hochul acknowledged that New York has long relied on income taxes from its residents to support state finances.

“We have to be smart about this, but we can fund what we want to fund with what we already are taking in,” bragged Hochul, who faces re-election in November.

The state had been facing a multi-billion dollar budget gap that was largely patched after a great year on Wall Street caused bonuses to shoot up 25% over last year, according to Hochul’s budget office.