Tuesday is the day — the first day for D.C. Council members to either support taxpayers or to pretend that reneging on proposed tax cuts is needed to “improve” housing, social services and public schooling.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Former Mayor Tony Williams, the city’s ex-chief financial officer who now is CEO of the Federal City Council, put the 2014 tax-reform package in perfect perspective, and it’s not, as some would have it, an either-or situation.
“Believe me, I more than anyone know investments in housing and education are important,” Mr. Williams said at a recent press conference with the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. “But it’s also important to know that the spending on these programs comes from a robust, vibrant economy.”
He also pointed out that District businesses will be hit with a higher minimum wage and a new family-leave mandate in the next few years. Tax cuts, Mr. Williams explained, will ease the financial burden — especially on small businesses, such as restaurants, breweries and other operations, which operate on razor-thin profit margins even when the District economy is robust and vibrant.
Now, look at the Mayor Muriel Bowser budget in terms of the basic numbers.
• The proposal rang in at $13.8 billion.
• The proposal reflected a $300 million increase in local tax revenues.
• The proposal included a 3.4 percent overall increase in spending.
So, right off the bat, there seemingly is at least $300 million to cover additional funds for schooling and housing.
Now, consider the 2014 tax cuts, which are scheduled to begin taking effect in January, four months into fiscal 2018.
Some of the modest tax-cuts include:
• Raising the standard deduction to $5,650 for singles, $7,800 for heads of household and $10,275 for married couples.
• Raising the personal exemption by $500, to $2,700.
• Reducing the unincorporated and incorporated business franchise tax from 9.0 percent to 8.75 percent.
The timing means D.C. revenuers wouldn’t even begin to use the minus signs until January 2019, when the new (or newly re-elected) mayor and members of the council are sworn in. (And, hopefully, the D.C. tax cuts will coincide with federal cuts, as well.)
So, in addition to potential political backlash in 2018, what do the mayor and council fear?
The organizations that help house the homeless, that feed the hungry, that make a living pushing for public school expenditures and free, er, universal pre-K, and for government-funded health care and social services are never satisfied.
All D.C. taxpayers pay for D.C. giveaways — whether that be family leave or an abortion, public school or tuition at the University of Virginia, unemployment or workforce development, the salaries of the mayor and her “advisers” and advance team or the average $130,538-plus salaries of the 13 council members.
Why any mayor or lawmaker would want to rescind tax cuts and keep putting the squeeze to the middle class, which is the bread, butter and honey of the economy, is unfair — and unfair is one of politicians’ favorite words.
Come Tuesday, and every legislative opportunity this session, the mayor and council need to be warned that they promised. They promised when they approved the 2014 tax reform package. And if they had yet to be elected to the council, they made the promise when they sought the support of D.C. taxpayers and voters.
The money to sustain government spending was in the Bowser plan.
What’s missing, however, is accountability — and that does not cost another penny.
• Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
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