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(TikTok screencap)
Giving the freedom to billionaires to not pay taxes because they donate to charity is so very wrong.
I don't have the power to decide where my taxes go. They shouldn't either.
"Who knew non-profit would be so profitable?!"
As much as it would hurt charities, removing the tax deduction for donations of any kind feels necessary at this point.
Turns out, lots of charities are also grifts for their administrators.
Sam Altman knew.
Well, they're actually not paying taxes on that portion. So they're effectively getting to use your taxes to to multiply their promotion of whatever the goverment defines as charitable, be it food pantries or religious communities "providing" conversion therapy.
I knew it was Taylor Swift's fault the whole time. :)
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I love Lemmy fr
Mamdani making T. Swizzle pay NYC taxes was the reason he balanced the budget? I thought it's because he negotiated with NY state for aid (which, fair game; NYC pays more in taxes than it gets back), delayed the city pension, and is finalizing a pied-à-terre tax.
What meaningful raise on Taylor Swift's taxes has Zohran Mamdani imposed? Did she not pay taxes before? What's the source here?
The real world is allowed to be complicated and messy, and ironically, reducing it to "hurr durr he taxed Taylor Swift" is doing a disservice to what Mamdani actually managed to work out to balance the budget – which is imperfect, but he inherited a $12 billion deficit from a grifter. It's good for what it is.
Taylor Swift owns multiple secondary properties in New York City.
She has amassed a massive real estate footprint on a single block in Tribeca, worth an estimated $50+ million. Her holdings include:
Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani finalized a deal to implement a pied-à-terre tax surcharge on luxury secondary residences in NYC.
The tax starts as a 4% surcharge on the property's value and then there is an annual charge that scales up progressively based on the assessed value.
Rhode Island passed a similar luxury second-home tax targeting non-resident estates over $1 million, a piece of legislation that the press nicknamed the "Taylor Swift Tax" due to its impact on her $17 million Watch Hill mansion.
To say that this alone is balancing the budget is an oversimplification (what are hot takes if not reductive) but the tax will have a meaningful impact because she owns a lot of property in NYC.
The tax in its entirety is supposed to bring around 500 million. The NYC budget was 12 billion in the red.
It's a great start, but suggesting that they managed to balance out the budget thanks to something that handled 1/24th of that deficit is just silly.
Sure, it is reductive but I also get what the image is referring to and don't think we have to be too literal about it. It's saying the spirit of that tax (ie. taxing the ultra wealthy) is how Mamdani is going about balancing the budget - while invoking a very recognizable billionaire to drive the point home. I read it more as using Taylor Swift as an example rather than insinuating her taxes, or the secondary estate tax in general, would be enough to balance the budget on their own.
Many hot takes are like this. They're meant to capture your attention, and while they may not be literally true on their own, the good ones have a reasonable conceptual foundation.
Enough partial solutions will sum up to a whole. If we treat them all as insignificant, then none will be enacted and no progress will be made.
He balanced the budget by doing some things right! But an additional 4bn came from the Governor that is trying to get reelected and is sucking up. Don't forget that.
NYC contributes a lot more than that to the state. I don't mean that in a "it's not fair!" way but NYC residents just receive fewer benefits for each tax dollars they put in and that will continue to be the case.
Subsidizing rural communities a good thing as long as it's not at the expense of the people keeping the state running. If the infrastructure crumbles, there are no tax dollars to fund anything
Abso-fucking-lutely.
Every billionaire is complicit, including your favorite billionaire: The pop star, the superstar athlete, the philanthropist, or the guru who cosplays as middle class. They're all motherfuckers.
This is why I can't stand to watch professional sports anymore, just some millionaire getting payed by his billionaire owner to play a game so you stay distracted by your bread and circuses.
Whatever you do, never mention this world-view at work, if you value your career.
I just hoot and holler along.
Like what's even the point. Why do you care which oligarch leased the best toys for themselves this season?
What you have to understand is that Taylor Swift paid a very tiny portion of her net worth in taxes. And she probably spends more flying around on her jet then she does in paying taxes.
Rich people don't pay taxes as a sport not to save money. They just want to be part of that club.
Mamdani made Taylor Swift pay taxes
False: there's no mention of Taylor Swift in particular. This may be an attempt to create a false conflict between the two.
Why are all the memes now text on top of pictures of randos
Im pretty sure they are screengrabs from tiktoks. Never really used it myself but thats the default font afaik
THANK YOU 👏👏
It's always weird cuz I donate to Charities and I also already pay taxes. How come they can't do both?
Aaaah she’ll shake it off.
(Which is a mandamitory remark at this point)
I thought he didn’t adjust taxes? I thought pension funds were used.
I’m not 100% up to date though so i may just be wrong.
He suspended pensions contributions, took just over $8bn in state aid funding and exemptions from state regulations, and delayed initiatives such as classroom size reduction. The city also over-estimated the number of employees it would have this year so that was an extra special saving of $1.3bn when expected outgoings were reconciled with the actual number. The actual tax increases he has implemented would “only” be worth $500m.
Basically it was a one-time thing, and the budget won’t be balanced next year, and the tax increases are nowhere near enough. But it got good press for a couple of days which I suspect was the point.
It's both. He convinced Kathy Hochul to pass a tax on second properties (pied-à-terre tax), but he also suspended pension contributions for 5 years.
I'm just looking for a reason to bring the plane memes back
