* Fix our schools, restore
programs and faculty to UDC?
* Restore and expand our gutted
safety net for our children, poor, disabled and elderly?
* Provide health coverage for all
presently uninsured residents (over 80,000)?
Have
we been misled when our politicians tell us the District just doesn't have
the tax base to meet these basic needs of our residents?
Our present local tax structure is
regressive. While their taxable income has been booming, the wealthy continue
to pay a smaller percentage of their income in local taxes than do low and
middle income brackets. The tax cut legislation passed by the Council last
spring will continue this pattern of regressivity. The top 20% income bracket
(average income greater than $89,300) will get 58% of the total tax cut.
This year, DC residents making over
$100,000 have an estimated taxable income of over $6 billion (source: projected
from IRS statistics), and this does not include income of tax cheaters who
fraudulently claim residence outside the District. For those making over
$200,000 the estimate is $5 billion; a mere 2% increase in taxation of their
income would generate $100 million in revenue a year for the District! (And they would get back a portion in the
federal deduction offset). This would insure both real tax relief for
low/middle income residents and the guarantee of increased revenues to fix our
schools and restore and expand our safety net.
Will higher taxes on the wealthy erode
our tax base?
Hardly likely. The wealthy have been
steadily moving into the District in the last decade, despite the lower tax
rates of suburban Maryland and especially Virginia. DC taxpayers, in the
greater than $100,000 bracket, increased from 12,000 to 20,000 in a decade (IRS
statistics). It is absurd to argue that
wealthy DC residents will leave the District if they are required to pay
slightly higher rates, given the advantages of living here, namely lower
commuting costs and time, cultural opportunities etc. Who will buy their high-priced homes if they move? And if a small
number do move, lets encourage the conversion of these large homes to
apartments. Lower tax rates on
low/middle income residents will in contrast encourage them to move back into
the District, reversing the trend of the last decade. Reducing the income gap and "misery index" in the
District would benefit the wealthy as well as everyone else by reducing crime,
stimulating consumer spending and reducing class/racial polarization, improving
the quality of life of all, whatever their income or neighborhood.
We are fully empowered under the
Home Rule Charter to revise our own tax code to guarantee the necessary revenue
to meet basic human needs. Lets fight
for a District tax-restructuring plan that reduces the income gap. Yes, such legislation would also require
Congressional approval, until we achieve our full democratic rights under
statehood. While voting representation
in Congress is long overdue, only statehood will insure local budgetary
control. Up to now our City Council and
Mayor have approved austerity budgets recommended by the Control Board. Isn't it time for our elected officials to
change course and stand up for our most vulnerable residents as well as
providing tax relief for low and middle income residents? And if they don’t,
why not consider electing people who would?
Websites: www.dcstatehood.org 561-6068, 546-0940