Trump Says the Pied-à-Terre Tax "Must Be Stopped, NOW!" Hochul's Answer: "Knock It Off"

What the president said

In a Truth Social post reported Tuesday, August 11 by CNBC and Forbes, President Trump went after the pied-à-terre tax. "The NYC Pied-a-Terre Tax is costing New York City and State a fortune in that the money, eventually to be gotten, is very little compared to the TAXES PAID by the tens of thousands of people who are fleeing the City, never to return," he wrote, closing, per CBS New York: "This doesn't work in America, and must be stopped, NOW!"

He went further than commentary. Per Forbes and CNBC, the president said he is looking into whether "the Federal Government has any legal right to avert this disaster," and The Hill reported he called the surcharge — Mayor Mamdani's signature push, enacted by the state legislature — a "dangerous political 'experiment'."

Albany's answer

Governor Hochul, who signed the surcharge into law on May 28, answered through reporters. Per CBS New York, she defended the premise in plain terms: anyone with a $5 million second home in New York "should be able to afford to pay for police, fire, and trash" services. Her message to the president was shorter. He "ought to focus on all the pains he's causing New Yorkers," she said, "and knock it off."

One caution for owners following the back-and-forth: the exchange was argued almost entirely in $5 million terms, and that figure describes only 1–3 family houses. Condos and co-ops enter the tax at a Department of Finance market value over $1 million — a far lower bar that covers most of the people our database hears from.

Could Washington actually stop it?

Nothing on the table suggests it can. The surcharge is a New York state law, passed by the legislature in late May; property taxation is a state and local power, and the president identified no statute, agency, or filing — only a search for "any legal right." Legal experts quoted by CBS New York called the threat empty. As of this writing there is no federal court filing, no executive order, and no proposed legislation touching the tax.

The live legal fight remains the one we have covered all month: the Staten Island homeowners' lawsuit over how the rollout was handled. There, the Appellate Division ruled on August 13 that the city may keep rolling the tax out at least until the August 31 hearing before Justice Wayne Ozzi. The tax statute itself has never been struck, and no court has been asked to strike it.

The president's own penthouse

There is an irony the explainers picked up. TIME notes Trump owns a Trump Tower penthouse valued by the city at roughly $6 million, and The Real Deal notes he moved his primary residence to Florida in 2019 — which is precisely the fact pattern the surcharge targets. In the Department of Finance assessment roll our database is built on, one unit at 721 Fifth Avenue matches that valuation: unit 66N, at $6,019,167. At the adopted rate for condos valued over $5 million — 6.5 percent — a unit at that value carries an annual surcharge of $391,246 per year.

Whether the president would actually pay is a different question — that turns on the city's residency determination and any exemption filing, the same 30-day notice process every flagged owner goes through. But on the published facts — a Florida primary residence and a Manhattan condo the city values above $5 million — he matches the profile the statute describes.

What owners should take from this week

Nothing changed. A Truth Social post is not a court order. The tax is law, effective July 1, with the first payment scheduled on the January 1, 2027 property-tax bill.
September 18 is still the deadline. If you received a "you may be subject" notice — or think you should have — file your exemption application by September 18. No statement from any politician this week touches that date.
August 31 is the date that matters. The hearing in Justice Ozzi's courtroom is the next point where the rollout could genuinely change shape. Our legal challenges tracker and 24/7 phone line will carry whatever comes out of it, the day it lands.

Questions owners ask

Can the federal government block New York's pied-à-terre tax?

No mechanism has been identified. The surcharge is a state law, signed May 28, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, and property taxation is a state and local power. The president said only that he is looking into whether the federal government has "any legal right" to intervene; legal experts quoted by CBS New York called the threat empty, and no federal filing exists. The only live court fight is the homeowners' lawsuit over how the rollout was handled — and there the appellate court just let the rollout continue.

Does Trump's post change my deadlines?

No. Nothing about this exchange touches the law or the calendar. The exemption-application deadline is September 18, 2026, the next court decision point is the August 31 hearing in Staten Island, and the first payment is still scheduled with the January 1, 2027 property-tax bill. If you received a notice — or believe you should have — file by September 18.

Would Trump himself owe the pied-à-terre tax?

He fits the profile the statute describes. TIME reports his Trump Tower penthouse is valued at roughly $6 million by the city, and The Real Deal notes he moved his primary residence to Florida in 2019. In the Department of Finance roll our database is built on, the one unit at 721 Fifth Avenue matching that valuation — unit 66N, at $6,019,167 — carries a $391,246-per-year surcharge under the adopted schedule. Whether he would actually pay depends on the city's residency determination and any exemption he files, the same process every other owner faces.

Sources

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