February 11, 2019. Last month, billionaire Ken Griffith closed on a penthouse at 220 Central Park South for over $239 million, making it the most expensive home ever sold in the United States. Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund Citadel, said he will not use the pricey pad as a primary residence, but instead as “a place to stay when he’s in town.” The staggering sale has renewed support from public officials for a pied-à-terre tax, which would place a yearly surcharge on homes worth $5 million and up, and apply to non-primary residences, as reported by the New York Times. Currently, there is a bill sitting in the Senate Cities Committee, which would amend the state’s property tax law with a new section that allows New York City to impose an additional property on pied-à-terre residences. For properties valued between $5 million and $6 million, a 0.5 percent surcharge would apply to homes over $5 million.
Properties valued at $6 million and above would be subject to a fee and tax, increasing to match the value. For homes valued at $25 million and over, there would be a $370,000 fee and a 4 percent tax. According to estimates from the Fiscal Policy Institute, the city could generate over $660 million in tax revenue annually through less than 2 percent of non-primary residences across the boroughs.
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