WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) &#8211; The Internal Revenue Service is debating whether to require taxpayers to disclose their citizenship status on next year&#8217;s tax forms, according to three people familiar with the situation, as the Trump administration intensifies its attempts to link federal agencies to its sprawling immigration enforcement and anti-fraud drive.
IRS officials are considering two versions of Form 1040, the primary paperwork individuals use to report earnings and claim tax benefits, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional reprisals.
The first version contains minor updates to reflect changes in tax laws. The second includes those updates and a check-box labeled: &#8220;Check this box if you are a non-U.S. citizen or have dual citizenship.&#8221;
Representatives from the Treasury Department &#8211; the IRS&#8217;s parent agency &#8211; declined to comment on Friday.
Immigrants, including those in the United States illegally, are required to file taxes and use the same IRS forms as tax filers with citizenship. Paying taxes has long been seen as a key factor for illegal immigrants to obtain legal status.
&#8220;It’s just an effort to once again terrorize people with certain immigration statuses, and it’s another step of turning the IRS into an agency that collaborates with immigration authorities rather than being an agency that enforces and administers the tax laws,&#8221; said Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, an advocacy and low-income tax assistance organization.
The Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security spent much of 2025 attempting to collaborate, sharing confidential taxpayer data with immigration officials to assist in the Trump administration&#8217;s deportation campaign.
Olson&#8217;s organization filed a lawsuit, and a federal judge blocked the IRS from disclosing that data in November. The federal government has appealed the ruling.
In February, the IRS admitted to the court that it had erroneously shared the data of more than 42,000 taxpayers with DHS.
Disclosing a taxpayer&#8217;s personal information &#8212; including a name or address &#8212; outside of narrow legal exceptions carries stiff penalties, including jail time. President Donald Trump recently dropped a lawsuit against the IRS seeking $10 billion in damages after a tax agency contractor leaked his tax returns to media outlets. The contractor, Charles Littlejohn, is serving a five-year prison sentence.
In exchange for dropping the suit, the Justice Department created a nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay supposed victims of &#8220;government weaponization.&#8221; As part of the settlement, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an agreement permanently barring the IRS from pursuing tax claims against Trump, his family or his businesses.
The Trump administration has sought to aggressively police government benefits awarded to non-citizens. Federal law already prohibits undocumented immigrants from many entitlement programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits covering education and housing. Non-citizens, though, pay into those programs through income, payroll and sales taxes.
Tax preparers nationwide reported encountering clients who said they were frightened to file their taxes in 2025 due to the IRS&#8217;s collaboration with immigration enforcement. That fear has fiscal consequences for the United States government. The Yale Budget Lab estimated that lower tax compliance rates among immigrant communities could lead to a $313 billion loss in federal revenue over the next decade.
The IRS is considering other methods of determining a taxpayer&#8217;s citizenship status. Non-citizens can file taxes using a nine-digit &#8220;individual tax identification number&#8221; in place of a Social Security number. Tax officials have discussed differentiating codes to denote a filer&#8217;s immigration status, the people said. The New York Times first reported those deliberations.
(Reporting by Jacob Bogage; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Rosalba O&#8217;Brien and Nick Zieminski)

FILE PHOTO: The Internal Revenue Service building is seen in Washington

Trump IRS Considers New Requirement As Immigration Crackdown Expands

illegal immigrants

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Income tax

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Taxes

Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos blasted New York City’s socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday, saying that if the corporate giant operated like the Big Apple’s broken public school system, customers wouldn&#8217;t see their packages for well over a month.
In a scathing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/20/cnbc-exclusive-transcript-jeff-bezos-speaks-with-cnbcs-andrew-ross-sorkin-on-squawk-box-today-.html">televised sit-down</a> on CNBC, the high-flying billionaire unloaded on Mamdani over a record-breaking $44 billion education budget that has yielded nothing but abysmal returns. Bezos slammed the city for blowing an astronomical $44,000 annually per student — outspending rivals like Los Angeles and Chicago by roughly 30% — even as student numbers plunge and exam performance craters.
&#8220;If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system &#8230; your packages would take six weeks to arrive,&#8221; the e-commerce kingpin told anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin from a Blue Origin factory floor. &#8220;We’d have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. And then when the package did finally arrive, it’d have the wrong item in it anyway.&#8221;
The tech titan, boasting a jaw-dropping $269 billion net worth, hit back hard at Mamdani&#8217;s obsession with soaking the rich. Bezos insisted that doubling his own hefty tax bill would do absolutely nothing to support frontline educators, because the massive mountain of cash is swallowed whole by a bloated, management-heavy bureaucracy.
&#8220;None of this money is getting to the teachers, I promise you,&#8221; Bezos said, targeting the army of middle managers choking the system.
Mamdani couldn&#8217;t wait to clap back, taking to X to snap: &#8220;I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ. <a href="https://t.co/JEnRnM2xII">https://t.co/JEnRnM2xII</a>
&mdash; Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/2057137240904511564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The fiery clash erupted shortly after the Bezos Family Foundation <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/20/us-news/jeff-bezos-torches-mamdani-for-pouring-43b-into-mismanaged-nyc-schools/">pledged</a> up to $150 million toward early childhood programs across Gotham via a massive anti-poverty endowment. Meanwhile, the struggling mayor has managed to scrape together a pitiful $3.5 million toward his own heavily hyped $20 million childcare fund.
The 62-year-old mogul, who was raised by a teenage mother and a young Cuban immigrant, argued that clueless politicians constantly look to manufacture wealthy villains instead of fixing real operational messes. Rather than finger-pointing, Bezos urged leaders to look at systemic tax reform. His pitch? Wipe out the tax bills entirely for lower-income working-class families, including struggling local nurses.
&#8220;When people are starting out and they’re struggling, stop taxing them. We don’t need it,&#8221; Bezos concluded. &#8220;I don’t want to reduce it; I want to eliminate it.&#8221;

2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Mark Guiducci – Arrivals

Jeff Bezos Humiliates NYC’s Socialist Mayor

Amazon

Jeff Bezos

New York City

Schools

Zohran Mamdani

New York City businessmen are already looking for the exits as newly elected democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani keeps promising &#8220;free&#8221; stuff they&#8217;ll be forced to subsidize.
Mamdani ran his campaign on a litany of socialist fever dreams like frozen rents, free city buses, and city-run grocery stores — but almost every one of his major policies is dependent on on a robust local economy replete with multi-millionaire and billionaire business owners who are willing to turn the other cheek while he robs them blind. Thus far, business owners don&#8217;t appear inclined to bite.
Apollo Global Management&#8217;s CEO, according to a <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/06/business/wall-street-giant-apollo-aims-to-open-second-headquarters-outside-nyc-in-latest-fallout-from-mamdanis-war-on-the-wealthy/">report</a> from The New York Post, is eyeing Florida and Texas as possible new hubs for the massive private equity firm. Billionaire CEO Marc Rowan has already begun to build up a presence in Florida, and he&#8217;s been scouting office locations in Miami and Palm Beach as well as in Austin, Texas.
Apollo alone paid more than $1 billion in income taxes in the past two years ($1.062 billion in 2024 and $1.276 billion in 2025), and although it is not clear how much of that went directly into the city&#8217;s coffers, it is clear that New York City would take a sizable hit if that money went elsewhere.
Billionaire hedge fund manager <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/06/us-news/billionaire-ken-griffin-scales-back-nyc-jobs-in-response-to-mamdanis-tax-the-rich-antics-sparking-fears-wealthy-exodus-has-begun/">Ken Griffin</a>, majority owner of Citadel LLC., also announced a plan to expand in Florida — and directly tied it a video that Mayor Mamdani posted recently.
Mamdani stood in front of Griffin&#8217;s Midtown penthouse to tout his plan for a &#8220;pied à terre&#8221; tax — which would slap additional taxes on second homes valued at over five million dollars — and Griffin made it clear that he did not appreciate the gesture.
&#8220;We will add far more jobs in Miami over the next decade as an immediate and direct consequence of the mayor’s poor decision here with respect to his posting of that video,&#8221; Griffin said, calling Mamdani&#8217;s video &#8220;creepy.&#8221;
The Citadel CEO&#8217;s threats are not likely to be idle, either — he relocated part of his company from Chicago to Miami in 2022 because of increasing crime and poor city and state leadership under then Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D-Chicago) and Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL). Citadel still has a large part of its company based in New York City.
&#8220;I think looking at what Mamdani just did to me, and more broadly is doing to the city of New York, is triggering of the trauma I went through in Chicago. Chicago went through a renaissance during most of my 30 years there, and then under the leadership of J.B. Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot, and the current mayor, has just devolved into a state that has lost its way,&#8221; he said.
Griffin and Rowan aren&#8217;t likely to be the only two considering escape, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow John Ketcham warned.
&#8220;New York City is losing its competitive edge and Mayor Mamdani makes it far less competitive,” he explained. &#8220;Investors and job creators have options and they will go where they’re treated well. Increasingly New York City has treated them inhospitably. New York City leaders have assumed they can’t do business elsewhere, even though we have seen in the last several years a dramatic expansion of the financial sector’s activities in states like Florida and Texas.&#8221;
The Partnership for New York City, a pro-business group, estimates that Mamdani&#8217;s policies could cost the city more than $168 million in annual city and state tax revenue – more than 2,500 jobs in the financial sector alone.

Illustration by The Daily Wire

Escape From New York: Mamdani’s Cash Cows Already Seeking Greener Pastures

Escape From New York: Mamdani's Cash Cows Already Seeking Greener Pastures

Business

Democratic Socialism

Wealth Tax

California Democrats running for governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/candidates-trade-brutal-blows-in-wild-california-governor-debate?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News+and+Analysis&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Candidates+Trade+Brutal+Blows+In+Wild+California+Governor+Debate">battled</a> Tuesday night over who would impose the most taxes and spend the most money as the state faces an affordability crisis and unprecedented budget deficit. 
In a televised CNN debate, Democrats — including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa —pushed to break through a crowded field that still lacks a clear frontrunner.
Several Democratic candidates, led by billionaire Tom Steyer, endorsed taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.
&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a big job to get us to single payer, but the truth is, we don&#8217;t have a choice,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/CNNTheStoryIs/status/2051858333162672255?s=20">Steyer said</a>. &#8220;The truth of the matter is, immigrants built this state. Immigrants make this state run. The fact of the matter is, we had a broken immigration system, and now you want to victimize the people who are working here and making this state run.&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/Elex_Michaelson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elex_Michaelson</a> asks candidates beginning w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/TomSteyer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomSteyer</a> &#8211;
In last year’s budget, Gov. Newsom &#8220;cut healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants to address a budget gap. As governor, would you restore that funding?&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/ChadBianco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChadBianco</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/katieporterca?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katieporterca</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierBecerra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@XavierBecerra</a> weigh in. <a href="https://t.co/LPdfZMD1a5">pic.twitter.com/LPdfZMD1a5</a>
— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNTheStoryIs/status/2051858333162672255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
Former Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter backed him up. 
&#8220;We can&#8217;t afford to have people who are sick who are making the rest of us sick,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RedWavePress/status/2052004314722296025?s=20">Porter said</a>. &#8220;When anyone doesn&#8217;t have care, the rest of us are at risk. When people don&#8217;t get vaccinations, when they don&#8217;t go to the doctor, they wind up in the emergency room, they cause longer lines for the rest of us, they make our healthcare system — they push it to the brink.&#8221; 
Amid a mass exodus out of California, Porter credited illegal immigrants for sustaining the state&#8217;s population. 
“They are one of the only ways our state has been growing in recent years,” <a href="https://x.com/theblaze/status/2052009806085468373?s=20">she said</a>. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/Elex_Michaelson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elex_Michaelson</a> asks candidates beginning w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/TomSteyer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomSteyer</a> &#8211;
In last year’s budget, Gov. Newsom &#8220;cut healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants to address a budget gap. As governor, would you restore that funding?&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/ChadBianco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChadBianco</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/katieporterca?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katieporterca</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierBecerra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@XavierBecerra</a> weigh in. <a href="https://t.co/LPdfZMD1a5">pic.twitter.com/LPdfZMD1a5</a>
— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNTheStoryIs/status/2051858333162672255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco fired back, saying illegal immigrants &#8220;shouldn&#8217;t be here.&#8221; 
&#8220;It&#8217;s ridiculous,&#8221; Bianco said. &#8220;When are we going to draw the line at any other crime? It&#8217;s illegal. They entered the country illegally. We&#8217;re not going to incentivize them to come here, to take more of the resources that regular Californians aren&#8217;t getting.&#8221;
&#8220;It makes absolutely no sense. And health care, no one is talking about, how about we try and make people healthy,&#8221; Bianco added. 
Under California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Golden State faces a <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/california-18-billion-budget-shortfall-next-year-state-legislative-analyst/69486901">$18 billion budget deficit</a> for the 2026-2027 year, which is $5 billion more than state officials expected. 
<a href="https://x.com/CNNTheStoryIs/status/2051860536761926060?s=20">In a telling moment,</a> debate moderator Elex Michaelson asked all candidates to provide one word to describe Newsom&#8217;s job performance. 
Porter called him &#8220;bold.&#8221; Steyer hailed him as &#8220;progressive.&#8221; For Becerra, Newsom has been &#8220;game-changing.&#8221; 
Only two Democrats offered mild critiques — with Villaraigosa calling the likely presidential hopeful &#8220;performative&#8221; and Mahan describing his governorship as &#8220;incomplete.&#8221;
Both Republican candidates called Newsom a failure. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
“One word you would use to describe Governor Newsom’s performance as governor?” &#8211;<a href="https://twitter.com/Elex_Michaelson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elex_Michaelson</a>
“Performative” 
“Bold” 
“Progressive” 
“Failed” 
“Failure” 
“Game changing” 
“Incomplete”<a href="https://twitter.com/AVillaraigosa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AVillaraigosa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/katieporterca?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katieporterca</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TomSteyer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomSteyer</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveHiltonx?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SteveHiltonx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ChadBianco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChadBianco</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierBecerra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@XavierBecerra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMahanSJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MattMahanSJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/98UBcQbMBW">pic.twitter.com/98UBcQbMBW</a>
— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNTheStoryIs/status/2051860536761926060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
&#8220;It&#8217;s not Donald Trump who&#8217;s given us gas prices $2 higher than the rest of the country. It&#8217;s Democrat policies, which Antonio and all the Democrats here support,&#8221; Republican Steve Hilton said. &#8220;Donald Trump is the president in all the other states of America, where the cost of living is way lower than in California.&#8221;
When asked about a controversial billionaire tax proposal — requiring Californians worth more than $1 billion to pay a one-time 5% tax on their assets — two Democratic candidates said it <a href="https://x.com/CNN/status/2051851776647737426?s=20">doesn’t go far enough</a>.
&#8220;This tax isn&#8217;t going to fundamentally change California&#8217;s economy in the way that young people and the working people of California need,&#8221; Porter said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a one-time tax. But we don&#8217;t have one-time revenue needs.&#8221; 
Steyer said he would vote for the wealth tax, which has qualified for November&#8217;s ballot, but he wants to tax the rich even more. 
&#8220;Billionaires like me should pay more taxes, and the big corporations should pay more taxes,&#8221; Steyer said. &#8220;But going forward, we do need to go further. This is a one-time tax, and it also doesn&#8217;t spread the money across the government; everything else does.&#8221; 
For Bianco, the back-and-forth represents what&#8217;s wrong with California. 
&#8220;So these Democrat policies of tax everybody to death and make them leave is how we started this program off to begin with. Everyone is leaving California, and it is because of their horrific policies,&#8221; Bianco said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
See how the candidates hoping to be the next governor of California responded to a question over a proposed billionaire tax.
Watch the California Governor Primary Debate live now on CNN and the CNN app: <a href="https://t.co/U59v8fS1nd">https://t.co/U59v8fS1nd</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ryv7s31DAF">pic.twitter.com/Ryv7s31DAF</a>
— CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/2051851776647737426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
Under California’s “jungle primary” system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November regardless of party.
California’s primary election is set for June 2, 2026.

Tom Steyer Campaigns For President In South Carolina

California Democrats Fight Over Who Will Tax The Most

California

Debate

Democrats

Election

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger would not rule out supporting multiple new taxes, including on gym memberships, streaming services, and dry cleaning. 
The Democrat, who won comfortably last November on a message focused on affordability, said the tax bills proposed in the state legislature are worth considering to add to state revenue streams.
&#8220;I think there are worthy conversations to be had about what revenue generation looks like in the future as our economy changes in so many ways,&#8221; Spanberger <a href="https://x.com/TylerEnglander/status/2049477220591169727">told a local ABC affiliate</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
A lot has been made of taxes proposed by Democrats that never passed the General Assembly, including a bill to tax streaming services and more.
Republicans, including President Trump, have attacked Governor Abigail Spanberger over that bill and others.
Spanberger has pushed… <a href="https://t.co/KBWUnIy66W">pic.twitter.com/KBWUnIy66W</a>
— Tyler Englander (@TylerEnglander) <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerEnglander/status/2049477220591169727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
Earlier this year, Virginia Democrats <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB978">introduced bills</a> to expand state sales tax coverage to various services, including gym memberships, storage facility use, pet care, counseling, vehicle and home repair, <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB900">digital subscriptions</a>, and more.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Gym membership</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Storage facility use</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Dog walking</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Dog grooming</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Counseling</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Vehicle repair</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Home repair</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Dry cleaning</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Cosmetic services</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Software application services</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Computer-related services</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Website hosting and design</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Data storage, and</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Digital subscription services</li>
</ul>
Democratic lawmakers have also introduced bills that would tax <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB919">gun</a> and <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB763">ammunition sales</a>, along with <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1179">levies on delivery drivers</a> for services like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
The bills never came up for a vote and have since stalled in the state&#8217;s General Assembly, according to the governor&#8217;s office. Spanberger, however, appeared to sympathize with the intention of the proposed taxes.
&#8220;But I also want to recognize that many of the patrons who brought forth different ideas about how to bring out revenue that&#8217;s necessary, I think every idea, as long as it’s reasonable and makes some amount of sense, should be entertained and should be discussed,&#8221; Spanberger said.
&#8220;The one on streaming services, you know, you used to buy a DVD, there&#8217;d be a sales tax. Streaming is different. And so I recognize that there&#8217;s value in having these conversations,&#8221; she added.
The liberal governor’s willingness to consider new revenue sources comes amid pressure from the White House.
“I can’t believe what this new Governor, Spanberger, has done to the Commonwealth — So sad!” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116386141086849907">President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post</a> last month. “This went from a thriving and powerful place, one envied by all, to a Commonwealth run by a person who has no concept of Low Taxes and Economic Strength.”
Spanberger’s office forcefully pushed back, insisting that none of the proposed taxes have been enacted and criticizing what it described as “the volume of misinformation — spread across social media and repeated in press coverage.”
&#8220;The array of taxes that the President asserts move forward in Virginia is sort of ludicrous,&#8221; Spanberger said in the interview. &#8220;But whether I would ever sign a bill is wholly dependent on, I think, as evidence from my recent actions, is wholly predicated on what is actually in the bill, and how it is outlined.&#8221;

Young slim woman in sportswear doing plank exercise on mat in modern studio

Why Hitting The Gym Could Soon Cost You More Under Dem Governor

abigail spanberger

Virginia

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has signaled he might nix his company’s $6 billion Midtown construction project over tax policy.
Citadel’s Chief Operating Officer Gerald Beeson slammed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent “Tax the Rich” video in which the mayor promoted a new tax policy, invoking Griffin as an example.
“It is shameful that he used Ken’s name as the example of those who supposedly aren’t carrying their fair share of the burdens associated with New York City’s often costly and wasteful spending,” said Gerald Beeson. “In doing so, the mayor has once again manifested the ignorance and disdain of the elite political class towards those who have been consistently committed to building one of the greatest cities in the world.”
If the company moves forward with the construction project, it is expected to create 6,000 high-paying jobs and support 15,000 permanent jobs in Midtown Manhattan, but a recent email to employees hinted it may be halted.
“The project—if we move forward—will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending,” the email read.
Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman also weighed in, arguing that Griffin contributes significantly to the city without placing demands on its resources.
“Importantly, non-resident owners of NYC apartments who leave them vacant for much of the year are not a burden on NYC schools, services, or other resources, while they drive growth in retail sales, restaurants, theater, and other important sectors of our economy,” Ackman said. “They also often support NYC nonprofits with donations.”
Ackman concluded with a warning, saying the mayor’s policies “will harm the constituencies he is supposedly trying to help.”
Mamdani ran his campaign on taking wealth from the rich and redistributing it in the form of city services like free buses and free childcare.
Figuring out how to pay for these policies has led to challenges for Mamdani, as his authority to levy taxes ends at New York City’s property tax — though the mayor constantly lobbies New York Governor Kathy Hochul to raise taxes.
The pied-à-terre tax that Mamdani claimed would apply to properties like Griffin’s $238 million penthouse is an example of how the mayor is exploiting new revenue sources. The new tax will apply to homes in New York City valued over $5 million. It is expected to raise $500 million, which will allegedly help address the $5.4 billion deficit the city is currently facing.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Interview

68 Seconds And Taxpayers Are Out $6 Billion?

Bill Ackman

Economy

Politics

Hospitality workers across the country say they’re seeing bigger tax refunds this year, but many told The Daily Wire they had never heard of President Trump’s &#8220;No Tax On Tips&#8221; policy.
“Really? No, I did not know that,” one person said. Another reacted with disbelief: “What? Oh my gosh.”
The Daily Wire asked one waitress at Pearl Dive Oyster Bar, “Was your refund better than last year&#8217;s?” She said she received a refund this year, whereas last year, she had to pay taxes. When we asked her why she believed her tax situation suddenly changed, the waitress guessed that she must have made more money at her old job. We followed up by asking her if she thought it could be because her tips weren’t taxed this year, and the waitress said she had never heard of the policy.
“Is that a good thing for us?” she asked.
“Well, if you got more money back,” we responded.
 “I guess that’s one good thing he did,” she added of President Trump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Bartenders and servers told me their tax refunds were better than last year but they had no idea why…
Republicans have a messaging problem <a href="https://t.co/XgqMzHhcfQ">pic.twitter.com/XgqMzHhcfQ</a>
— Brecca Stoll (@breccastoll) <a href="https://twitter.com/breccastoll/status/2045571269706371442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
One bartender said he thought his tax situation changed because he claimed his son as a dependent. “Why do you think you got so much back? Really? Because my son—I claim him—so, you know, it just boosted the profit,” he said, before adding, “Other than that, I wouldn’t have gotten too much at all.”
However, after hearing about “No Tax on Tips,” he laughed and said, “Oh yes, I would definitely say that was it.”
Another worker said, “I’m not sure why it was better, but it was better.” Her coworker answered for her, saying it was because tips weren’t taxed up to $25,000 this year, and neither was overtime.
2025 was a historic high for tax refunds, with the average refund being <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administrations-1000-tax-refund-promise-falls-short-by-665/">$3,274</a> — which is 11% higher than last year.
Trump touted the policy in Las Vegas on Thursday. “Las Vegas is the home of the largest concentration of tipped workers anywhere in the country, and thanks to our tax cuts, this week, thousands of Nevada waiters, casino dealers, bartenders, caddies, and valets received the biggest tax refunds of their entire lives.”
Originating in Las Vegas, the policy—along with “no tax on Social Security” and “no tax on overtime”—was a frontrunner on the campaign trail. Yet, the majority of hospitality workers The Daily Wire interviewed in Washington, D.C., had not heard of the flagship proposal.
The issue is not new. A lack of awareness about current events is a trend The Daily Wire has observed firsthand. When the outlet interviewed Kamala Harris supporters at her book tour in Nashville, Tennessee, many couldn’t name her &#8220;best policy.&#8221;
A viral spring break video also highlighted how little some teenagers knew about foreign affairs, with several saying they had never heard of Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah—let alone claims that the U.S. had killed him. Daily Wire host Matt Walsh commented, “I actually don’t mind the fact that a bunch of 18- and 19-year-old kids are totally ignorant about world affairs… but the problem is that these kids can vote… raise the voting age to 25.”

Cash Tips

Servers And Bartenders Don’t Know Why Their Refunds Are Bigger This Year

Donald Trump

Nevada

U.S.

Yesterday, Tax Day, was the greatest American holiday — according to the Democratic Party.
You might think of Tax Day as something annoying and awful, that day when you slip a check in the mail that represents a gigantic chunk of your yearly earnings so the federal government can then spend all that money on a bunch of useless horse crap.
But that&#8217;s where you&#8217;re wrong, according to Democrats. For them, Tax Day is a magnificent delight, a day of festivities for all. We should look forward to it every year because taxes are incredible. 
As Joe Biden used to say, they are a sign of “patriotism,” of “social solidarity.”
Or, in reality, sticking it to the people who earn money in the United States.
There&#8217;s something even better for Democrats spending all of that magical money on awful nonsense. In fact, that&#8217;s the best part: It&#8217;s not your money. It was never your money. It was always their money.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
They let you control some of it. But the rest of it, they take from you, and then they burn it, just to show you that your economic freedom belongs to them.
The purpose of taxes, according to Democrats, is not a more prosperous society or the obliteration of poverty. The purpose of taxes is quite simple: to punish success.
Of course, they always deny that they believe the more successful you are, the more you ought to be punished.
One of the most seminal political debates I&#8217;ve ever covered was the 2008 Democratic debate involving then-Senator Barack Obama, whose <a href="https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-obama-to-increase-capital-gains-tax-because-of-fairness/4830724">answer to a certain question</a> would in any normal world have disqualified him for the presidency.
The question was this: Would you increase the capital gains tax rate even if it resulted in less tax revenue for the government to spend?
Barack Obama said, “What I&#8217;ve said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.”
You understand? The purpose is “fairness.” That&#8217;s the purpose of taxes: fairness, not prosperity. It is not more government revenue to use for useful things. It is to punish people. It is “fairness.”
No Democrat has ever been able to answer this question: What exactly represents a fair tax rate? When is it fair enough?
If the normal person were to pay a 40% tax rate, and Richie Rich were to pay a 90% tax rate, would that be fair? If, in fact, everyone were to pay a 100% tax rate, would that be fair? No Democrat can ever explain what the ideal fair tax rate is, because “fair” is a fungible term.
“Fair” doesn&#8217;t mean anything. “Fair” is in the eye of the beholder.
The real key is that you are punishing and reveling in punishing the rich people. That&#8217;s what it&#8217;s about.
That’s why the Democratic Party on Tax Day put out a tweet saying, “Tax the rich.” Not “help the poor,” “tax the rich.”
That&#8217;s all they care about: taxing the rich.
The way you know that it&#8217;s working is because you&#8217;re making the rich poorer. This is why Zohran Mamdani, the communist mayor of New York, was sitting on a stage yesterday with a gigantic backdrop reading “Tax the Rich,” <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/04/transcript-_mayor-mamdani-holds-tax-day-forum-with-economists-ga">while speaking</a> about how well all of this is working. 
He stated:
<blockquote>And so, for all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount, I say “imagined” because before I was a mayor, I was a state legislator, and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time. We were told the same thing then. And what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time, even after having passed that tax. </blockquote>
The reason you have more millionaires in the city is because of economic growth, period.
Mamdani, on Tax Day, decided it was time to announce the new pied-à-terre tax. The pied-à-terre tax is a tax on any home that is someone’s second home, a home that they don&#8217;t live in most of the year, that is worth more than $5 million.
The sick glee with which he announces taxes has nothing to do with helping people. It has everything to do with punishing people.
That is the glee. This is your smiling Jacobin. If you had a guillotine nearby and he had the capacity to use it, he most certainly would.
He cut an ad — which should creep the living hell out of you if you have half a brain — talking about how excited he is to tax people.
Remember, most people think of Tax Day as a miserable day because you&#8217;re giving a bunch of money that you earned to a bunch of people who did not earn that money, just so they can spend it on random crap.
But according to Mamdani, it&#8217;s the best day because he — as a useless person for his entire adult life who got elected mayor of New York  — finally gets to do the thing he wants to do: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLKZnVB4F9k">Bring the rich low</a>.
He said: 
<blockquote>Today we&#8217;re taxing. I&#8217;m thrilled to announce a pied à terre tax, the first in New York&#8217;s history. This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full time in the city. Like for this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million. This pied à terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich, those who store their wealth in New York City real estate, but who don&#8217;t actually live here. 
But even so, they&#8217;re able to reap the huge financial rewards of owning property in, dare I say, the greatest city in the world. And most of the time these units are sitting empty since, again, they don&#8217;t actually live here. This is a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working new owners. Now it&#8217;s coming to an end. This tax will raise at least $500 million directly for the city.</blockquote>
I have a question. What is unfair about Ken Griffin spending a bajillion dollars for an apartment and then not spending time in the apartment? Do we really think that Mamdani would be fine with Ken Griffin if he lived in that apartment? Beyond that, doxing Ken Griffin&#8217;s apartment is a terrible thing for the mayor of New York City to do.
You notice they use the “Succession” music underneath, because all people who are rich are just like the people in “Succession.”
Except they&#8217;re not. I know a lot of rich people. Some are like the people in “Succession,” and many are not. I also know a lot of people who are not rich, and some of them are terrible, and some of them are wonderful.
The idea that virtue inherently correlates with the level of wealth is nuts, but it is what undergirds the level of hatred that Democrats have for people who earn.
All of this ignores that many people who are wealthy today were not so yesterday. I once had very little money in my bank account.
But that&#8217;s the beautiful thing about America, and it&#8217;s pretty incredible.
Yet according to Democrats, that&#8217;s a bad thing; it would be better if nobody had their money in their bank account.
Zohran Mamdani believes that people who earn more in a capitalist society are worse human beings.
And it is a nearly-universal idea among top-tier Democrats.

GettyImages-2245395863

Tax Day — A Feast Of Envy For Democrats

Ben Shapiro

Billionaire

Opinion

In 1773, a tax on tea was enough to push people over the edge.
Not because of the cost, but because of what it represented. A government reaching too far into the pockets of its citizens.
So they dumped it into the harbor.
Every April, the government makes sure that it gets its cut. You don&#8217;t get a say. You just get a smaller number at the bottom. Today, the taxes are higher, broader, and unavoidable. Americans are taxed when they earn, when they spend, and when they try to hold onto what&#8217;s left.
And yet, every April, the response is the same.
You file. You pay. You move on. Same as last year. Same as the year before. The Trump administration is citing its highest year in tax refunds as a success, but when you have to pay as much as you do, is that really a win?
What&#8217;s changed isn&#8217;t the burden, though that has gotten progressively higher. It&#8217;s the reaction.
The protest is gone. What&#8217;s left is the decision that comes after: what you do with the money that didn&#8217;t get taken.
Because while you don&#8217;t control the system, you still control where your money goes next.
Nobody&#8217;s overthrowing anything today, but maybe you have some money left over — and the <a href="http://dailywire.com/shop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Wire Shop</a> has a few ideas about what it could get you.
At Jeremy’s Razors, the <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/products/precision-5-trial-kit-2?_pos=8&amp;_sid=bfcc93cf2&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Precision 5 Razor for men</a> isn&#8217;t trying to save the climate by destroying the economy or teach you something a writers’ union can’t wait to shoehorn into a formerly beloved series. It shaves your face. Exceptionally well. That&#8217;s the whole pitch. 5 stainless steel blades, aloe vera &amp; Argan oil lubrication, and a handle that feels like a firm handshake.
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Meanwhile, as conservative media talk a lot about winning the culture, the Daily Wire decided to actually try.
Michael Knowles’s hit <a href="https://store.dailywire.com/products/yes-or-no?_pos=1&amp;_sid=60d62dd75&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yes or No Game</a> continues to be The Daily Wire’s Best Seller for a reason — join the thousands of players dying to know how well they know the people around them, and pick up one of the <a href="https://store.dailywire.com/products/yes-or-no?_pos=1&amp;_sid=60d62dd75&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3 expansion packs</a> to dive deeper.
<a href="https://store.dailywire.com/products/pendragon-game?_pos=1&amp;_sid=6ada97623&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin Official Board Game</a> brings the world of the Daily Wire’s biggest production yet to your home’s table. Explore the sacred isle filled with enchantments as you race to discover which character, location, and weapon hold the secret of the Grail. Use cunning deduction and your character&#8217;s special power to unmask the truth before your rivals do.
And for those who want something quieter, facts don’t care about your feelings, but they can change your atmosphere. The <a href="https://store.dailywire.com/collections/ben-shapiro/products/palo-santo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Palo Santo &amp; Cashmere</a> and <a href="https://store.dailywire.com/products/myrrh-smoky-amber-candle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Myrhh &amp; Smoky Amber</a> candles are the kind of thing you light once and keep coming back to.
No one&#8217;s dumping tea into the ocean this year.
But the instinct behind it hasn&#8217;t disappeared. It just shows up differently now — in smaller decisions, made individually.
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Spend what&#8217;s left like it belongs to you — because it does.

The Tax That Sparked A Revolution Was On Tea

Daily Wire Shop

Jeremy's Razors

President Donald Trump ordered two bags of food from McDonald&#8217;s to the Oval Office via DoorDash for lunch on Monday and allowed the delivery driver to talk about the massive tax return she received thanks to Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
Dasher Sharon Simmons, who wore a shirt that read &#8220;DoorDash Grandma,&#8221; walked up to the outside door of the Oval Office as cameras rolled and was greeted by the president.
&#8220;Nice to meet you. I have your DoorDash order for you, Mr. President,&#8221; Simmons said.
&#8220;Look at this. This doesn&#8217;t look staged, does it?&#8221; Trump quipped as reporters gathered to watch the food drop off and ask Trump questions during a quick press conference.
Simmons told Trump that she was surprised to receive a tax refund of over $11,000 this year thanks to the tax cuts passed in Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221; The bill, which was passed the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Trump last summer, allows Americans to deduct federal taxes on tips and overtime. Trump&#8217;s tax cuts gave many waiters, bartenders, and delivery drivers a massive boost in their 2025 refunds.
&#8220;You know, we call it the &#8216;Great, Big, Beautiful Bill&#8217; — we should call it the &#8216;Great, Big, Beautiful Tax Cut Bill&#8217; because it&#8217;s tremendous amounts of money,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s on overtime, that&#8217;s also on social security, as you know.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
WATCH IN FULL: <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> receives a <a href="https://twitter.com/DoorDash?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DoorDash</a> delivery to the Oval Office.
&#8220;I have your <a href="https://twitter.com/DoorDash?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DoorDash</a> order for you, Mr. President!&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/lwFHbHmYVk">pic.twitter.com/lwFHbHmYVk</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2043736844144124206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump tipped the dasher $100 for the McDonald&#8217;s delivery. He also invited her into the Oval Office.
<div id="attachment_1077065" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1077065" class="wp-image-1077065 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-2270730070.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Photographer: Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
After dropping off the president&#8217;s McDonald&#8217;s order, Simmons told Fox News that Trump&#8217;s no tax on tips has helped her save up money after she and her husband were forced to spend much of their savings on her husband&#8217;s medical bills when he was diagnosed with stage-three cancer.
&#8220;As you know, going through treatments — even with insurance — you kind of break the bank,&#8221; Simmons said. &#8220;And we pretty much went through our savings, so when I found out about the no tax on tips, I was like this is incredible. You know, it&#8217;s not going to replace my life savings, but it&#8217;s going to help, certainly, with future doctor&#8217;s appointments and future things that we have going on. It means a lot.&#8221;
Simmons added that in 2025, half of her total earnings came through tips. Following the passage of the &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; many seniors also qualified for an additional $6,000 in deductions on their 2025 tax returns. So far, the average tax refund for all Americans in the 2026 filing season has been over $3,600, up nearly 11% from last year&#8217;s refunds, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-march-6-2026">according</a> to IRS data.
The Trump administration is highlighting the president&#8217;s economic policies as the 2026 election season ramps up. Earlier this month, the White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-job-growth-surges-past-expectations-in-march">celebrated</a> a jobs report that showed a net gain of 178,000 jobs in March, more than tripling expectations.
On other economic fronts, however, Trump is taking a hit as the Iran war continues. The president faces criticism over rising gas and energy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-report-shows-iran-war-impact-as-a-key-piece-tells-the-story">prices</a> in the wake of his decision to launch &#8220;Operation Epic Fury.&#8221;

President Trump Highlights ‘No Tax On Tips’ Policy

Trump DoorDashes McDonald’s To Oval Office To Prove A Point On Taxes

McDonald’s

Trump Administration

With one week before the tax deadline, major AI chatbots are warning users not to rely on them to prepare or file returns. 
When asked whether it could help prepare a 2025 tax return, Elon Musk&#8217;s Grok cautioned against using AI for filing, saying models &#8220;miscalculate refunds by thousands on average,&#8221; and instead recommended software like TurboTax or a licensed professional.
&#8220;Not a good idea for actually preparing or filing your 2025 return,&#8221; Grok responded. &#8220;Tax code is too complex and changes yearly — AI (including me) often hallucinates details or misses nuances, leading to errors that could trigger IRS issues.&#8221;
The Daily Wire checked with other leading platforms, including Google&#8217;s Gemini, OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT, and Anthropic&#8217;s Claude, using the same prompt. They offered similar guidance, saying they can help explain tax concepts but should not be used. 
&#8220;It is highly discouraged to use generative AI like me, ChatGPT, or similar platforms to actually prepare or calculate your tax returns,” Gemini warned. ChatGPT advised using it as “your helper” but not “your tax preparer.” Claude agreed, blaming nuanced tax laws. 
Across platforms, chatbots cited similar concerns, warning that AI can make mistakes, lack full financial context, and miss important edge cases. But the more significant issue is liability: if the IRS finds errors in a return, the person who files it, not the software or AI, is responsible for any additional taxes, penalties, and interest.
Traditional tax software such as TurboTax or H&amp;R Block operates similarly, with users responsible for the information submitted. That risk is why many taxpayers opt to pay more for a CPA or licensed tax preparer, who can assume some professional liability if given accurate information.
While chatbots discourage using AI to file returns, they recommend using it as a “smart assistant” to explain tax concepts and stay organized. AI tools can help users understand forms like a 1099 versus a W-2, clarify deductions, and translate complex language from tax software into simpler terms. 
However, those capabilities come without legal accountability, a concern lawmakers are beginning to address. In New York, proposed legislation would restrict AI tools from offering legal or financial advice, including tax guidance, without proper oversight. Critics argue the bill&#8217;s broad language could limit even basic, useful responses.
“The problem is evident in the bill’s operative provision,” said Oliver Roberts, an adjunct law professor at Washington University. “Subsection 2(a) prohibits a chatbot proprietor from &#8216;permit[ting]&#8217; a chatbot to provide any &#8216;substantive response, information, or advice.&#8217;”

AI and finance in a vortex

Grok To Procrastinators: Please Don’t Let Me Do Your Taxes!

Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT

Grok

The NBA took a historic step Wednesday, voting unanimously to explore expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas. After 18 years of waiting, there&#8217;s finally real hope that the SuperSonics are coming home. It&#8217;s genuinely good news for a city that desperately needs something to cheer about.
But leave it to Washington Democrats to find a way to pick the team&#8217;s pockets before it plays a single game.
Seattle has been gutted by years of soft-on-consequences governance. King County&#8217;s homelessness authority tallied a revised 16,868 homeless individuals in its most recent completed count, and the agency&#8217;s own leadership has already signaled the 2026 survey, completed just weeks ago, will push that number higher still. Open-air drug use has become a defining feature of Seattle&#8217;s public spaces, with encampments stretching across parks and neighborhood corridors that once drew shoppers and tourists. Businesses fled. Residents followed. From 2021 to 2022, Washington logged a <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_faf025f3-cf18-4cb7-aa19-907760238841.html">net migration loss</a> of nearly 19,000 people and a $1.66 billion net loss in adjusted gross income.
This is the economic wreckage that Democrat-run Olympia and Seattle City Hall built through years of consequence-free drug policies and hostility to accountability. So when the NBA Board of Governors voted to formally pursue expansion talks with One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the ice hockey team the Kraken&#8217;s umbrella ownership group, fans had every reason to celebrate.
Climate Pledge Arena, a little virtue signal for woke Seattle, is ready. The fanbase never actually left. And for a city that&#8217;s been told for years things are improving while watching them deteriorate, the return of the Sonics is a rare piece of unambiguously good news. A possible 2028-29 season start is now squarely on the table.
The unconstitutional income tax that crashed the party
Here&#8217;s the catch. Just weeks before the NBA made its move, Democrats <a href="https://seattlered.com/seattle-red/jason-rantz-opinion/ferguson-delays-signing-washington-income-tax-sb-6346/4117495">rammed through Senate Bill 6346</a>, a 9.9% income tax on households earning more than $1 million annually. It passed the House 51-46 after Republicans waged a historic 25-hour floor fight, then cleared the Senate 27-21. Gov. Bob Ferguson has pledged to sign it.
Republicans called it exactly what it is. A 1933 Washington Supreme Court ruling established that income is property under the state constitution, meaning it must be taxed at a uniform rate. Democrats are betting courts will reverse nearly a century of precedent. That is a bold gamble with other people&#8217;s money.
Visiting players are on the hook
Here is what most fans celebrating the expansion news haven&#8217;t fully absorbed: SB 6346 doesn&#8217;t just hit Seattle residents. The bill codifies duty-day apportionment rules for nonresident athletes, meaning every opposing NBA team that walks into Climate Pledge Arena will owe Washington state a cut of income earned during those games. Tax professionals call this a &#8220;jock tax,&#8221; and Washington has never had one until now.
The math is ugly. For an NBA player earning $35 million a season, a two-game road trip to Seattle could generate over $800,000 in Washington-sourced income subject to the 9.9% rate, after only a minimal prorated deduction. Add coaches and high-earning staff, and a visiting team&#8217;s aggregate tax exposure for a single Seattle road stop could run several hundred thousand dollars.
This also changes the Sonics&#8217; own competitive position in free agency. For years, playing in Washington meant zero state income tax, a genuine edge when players compared contract offers. That advantage evaporates above the million-dollar threshold. Democrats didn&#8217;t just tax the team. They taxed every opponent who came to watch them play.
Silver lining: the encampments will disappear (temporarily)
There is one unexpected upside to the NBA expansion push, and Seattle residents near the city&#8217;s worst encampments already know what it is. A homeless camp sat for five months in the shadow of the Space Needle, on a vacant private lot at 5th Avenue North and Harrison Street, right across the street from Seattle Center, where Climate Pledge Arena is located. Neighbors and nearby businesses reported open drug use, discarded needles, and assaults.
The city claimed for months that it couldn&#8217;t touch it because the land was privately owned. It took a court-appointed receiver, a negotiated agreement, and a police presence to finally clear it last week.
&#8220;This is a high-profile spot, a very high-profile corner,&#8221; the receiver told <a href="https://komonews.com/news/local/space-needle-area-encampment-cleared-after-five-months-on-private-lot-housing-crisis-shelter-resources-drugs-needles-pollution-assault-crime-police-statistics-sweeps-katie-wilson-seattle">KOMO News</a>. &#8220;There was an emphasis to get this taken care of.&#8221;
Seattleites have seen this movie before. When the city hosted MLB All-Star Week in 2023, Mayor Bruce Harrell&#8217;s administration suddenly found the <a href="https://seattlered.com/seattle-red/jason-rantz-opinion/rantz-seattle-cleans-up-the-city-for-mlb-all-star-week-not-for-us/3905798">urgency to clear SODO</a>, Pioneer Square, and downtown of the encampments that residents had begged them to address for years. The streets looked almost livable for about a week.
I covered it at the time and was clear about what was actually happening. The city cleaned up for baseball executives, not for the people who live and work there. The same performance is coming for the NBA&#8217;s ownership vetting process, when someone has to justify writing a check somewhere between $7 and $10 billion for an expansion franchise. I&#8217;ll be honest with you: as a Seattle resident, I&#8217;ll take it. Beggars can&#8217;t be choosers. Just don&#8217;t mistake a pressure-wash before a sales pitch for an actual policy change. And, by the way, it did little to end the stench of urine downtown that is so thick you can taste it.
Democrats broke it. Now they want the trophy.
Progressive leadership spent years presiding over open-air drug markets, soaring homelessness, and a documented business exodus. Now they are racing to be photographed standing next to the NBA expansion announcement.
Democrats didn&#8217;t fix Seattle. They just got lucky the NBA still sees enough value in a market they&#8217;ve been running into the ground. The Sonics may well be back by 2028. They&#8217;ll arrive right as Washington&#8217;s unconstitutional income tax kicks in, ready to collect from every player who pulls on the jersey and every opponent who comes to town.
Welcome home, Sonics. Watch your wallets.
***
Jason Rantz is a <a href="https://seattlered.com/podcast_results?i=1676&amp;n=The+Jason+Rantz+Show">Seattle-based talk show host</a> and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Killing-America-Radical-Destruction/dp/1546006141/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0">“What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left’s Tragic Destruction of Our Cities.”</a>

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