In my last newsletter, I took some time to reflect on our accomplishments from the past year.  This week, I want to discuss a few of my New Year's Resolutions. As Chairman of the Council's Committee on Finance & Revenue, my central goals for the year relate to the District's finances.

First, it is important to me to lower the top personal income tax rate in the District to our prior rate of 8.5%.  As a government, we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot when it comes to attracting and retaining new residents and small businesses.  We can raise money in the short term by perpetually increasing taxes and fees, as my colleagues prefer to do, but when we create disincentives for new businesses to locate here we do more harm than good down the road.

Second, it is important to me to reduce the expenditures of the District government.  I am the first member to champion programs that actually work, such as the Housing Production Trust Fund.  Unfortunately, many of our District dollars are not spent so wisely, and we have to make strategic cuts in order to balance our budget going forward.

Third, after we make those cuts, I want to make sure that the savings we achieve are put into the District's savings account rather than doled right back out in earmarks and other new, wasteful spending.  Despite all the complaints I heard from my colleagues about all the supposed budget cuts we made last year, the simple fact is that we passed the largest budget in the District's history. In addition to saving for a rainy day, our reserve account also supports our bond rating, which is critical for allowing the government to borrow for needed capital improvements to schools and other important projects at affordable rates.

Fourth, I want to move forward quickly with the Mayor to constitute the Tax Revision Commission and the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission.  The Tax Revision Commission will take a thoughtful look at the District's tax structure.  Unfortunately, the only time tax policy typically comes up in the legislative setting is when a member is looking for a way to raise money for a pet project he or she wants funded.  The goal of the Tax Revision Commission will be to make more principled recommendations based on sound tax policy rather than pragmatic spending priorities. 

The Real Property Tax Appeals Commission, in contrast, focuses more on the mechanics of collecting taxes.  A substantial portion of the District's revenue comes from real property tax collections, and there have been a number of complaints with regard to inconsistency in the administrative appeals process.  The Real Property Tax Appeals Commission was established with the goal of professionalizing the appeals process and ensuring greater fairness and transparency.

In closing, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are making progress on your resolutions for the New Year.  The holidays always seem to go by a little too quickly, but I am excited about the year ahead and all we will accomplish together.

Jack

 

January 9 Hearing

Councilmember Evans is holding a public hearing on Monday, January 9 at 11:15am, in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) to discuss Bill 19-512, the "Age-in-Place and Equitable Senior Citizen Real Property Act of 2011."

This bill would amend section 47-863 of the District of Colombia Official Code to increase the eligible gross adjusted income limit to $125,000 for the purpose of qualifying for a 50% deduction in computing real property tax liability; and to re-define the terms "household adjusted income" and "residence."

January 26 Hearing

Councilmember Evans recently announced a public oversight hearing on the matter of i-Gaming, as well as a public hearing on Bill 19-474, the "Lottery Amendment Repeal Act of 2011" on Thursday, January 26 at 10:00am in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW). The hearing will continue until all witnesses have testified or 1:00pm and will recess.  The hearing will then resume at 6:00pm.

As a follow up to the June 29 Public Oversight Roundtable on the matter of i-Gaming, the committee is providing another opportunity for the DC Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board to provide an update on the series of community meetings held in the Fall of 2011, as well as implementation efforts of i-Gaming in the District of Columbia.  This measure was included in Title VII, Subtitle G of Bill 18-1100, the "Fiscal Year 2011 Supplemental Budget Support Act of 2010," which is now Law 18-370.   

Bill 19-474, the "Lottery Amendment Repeal Act of 2011" would amend the Law to legalize Lotteries, Daily Numbers Games, and Bingo and Raffles for Charitable Purposes (DC Law 3-172) to eliminate online gambling.

For additional information or to sign up to testify, please contact Sarina Loy.