It’s all over but the crying for the DC Commuter Tax. The Supreme Court today refused to hear the appeal of the group trying to tax the ever-living bejesus out of workers who live in Virginia or Maryland. Of course, all of this comes at an inopportune time for the District, who are hamstrung by large capital investments in the new Stadium, and discussion of the construction of a new major hospital.
This is probably the most telling quote from the entire piece though:
“We’re clearly at the limits of taxation,” said Alice M. Rivlin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the former chairman of the D.C. financial control board. “We tax everything we possibly can.”
With DC’s taxation at the limit, with a 10% Restaurant Tax, with an Income Tax that is 35% higher than the surrounding areas (Maryland is around 6.5%, DC is around 5%), what’s the District to do?
The answer seems to be: Ask Congress For More Money. With 15 schools to be closed, and budgetary issues looming, Special Envoy To The US Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton is requesting $800 Million for the District. That kind of money would solve a lot of problems for the City Government, and might let some of this all stand. The reason that people come into this city, day after day, is to work on behalf of the government, for its organs, for those who work as contractors, and all manner of other ways in which they make a living.
Why punish the workers when it’s the Federal Government that has so crippled the District?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
