NYC, Rhode Island and Others Consider Pieds-à-Terre Taxes to Fix Budget Shortfalls

The Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2026-Craig Karmin
If you are fortunate enough to own a second home in the U.S., there is a decent chance you’ll soon be paying more taxes on it. New York City is planning to tax pieds-à-terre on homes worth at least $5 million. Rhode Island’s “Taylor Swift tax” will hit homes valued at over $1 million that are uninhabited for at least 183 days of the year. Courts in Montana and San Francisco are also weighing proposals for extra levies on vacant homes. Nicholas Miller explores the furious debate these proposals have unleashed, and why they present a politically attractive fix for housing and budget shortfalls in many places.
Click here for more (subscription)