District of Columbia
D.C.’s Budget Crisis Demands Fairer Business Tax System
June 9, 2025 • By Nick Johnson
As the Washington, D.C. region heads toward a likely recession, local policymakers will need to look to new revenue sources to help lessen the pain. In D.C., lawmakers ought to adopt a simple reform that would raise substantial revenue and make the District’s business tax system fairer.
Worthwhile Ideas for a Stronger and Fairer D.C. Tax Code
January 17, 2024 • By Andrew Boardman, Kamolika Das, Marco Guzman
The nation’s capital has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to advance a stronger and fairer local tax code. New draft recommendations from a key advisory panel will help leaders make the most of the moment.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Taxing Capital Gains More Robustly Can Help Reduce DC’s Racial Wealth Gap
November 1, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
The federal and DC governments tax income from wealth more favorably than income from work. This preferential treatment means we under tax the most well-off, tax their wealth less often, and, in some cases, allow them to accumulate fortunes and pass vast sums of wealth to heirs tax-free. Read more.
Testimony of ITEP’s Amy Hanauer Before the D.C. Tax Revision Commission
May 3, 2023 • By Amy Hanauer
The written testimony of ITEP Executive Director Amy Hanauer is below the embedded video of the hearing. Dear D.C. Tax Revision Commission, Thank you for inviting me to testify last week on the research of my colleagues at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. We’re grateful to have our perspective included and as a […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: DC’s Earned Income Tax Credit – The Most Generous in the Nation, but not the Most Inclusive
April 6, 2022 • By ITEP Staff
The DC Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a powerful tool for advancing racial, gender, and economic equity. Modeled after the federal tax credit by the same name, DC’s EITC goes to families and individuals earning low and moderate incomes to help them keep more of what they earn and meet basic needs. It is claimed […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: NEW VIDEOS: Why DC’s Wealthiest Should Pay their Fair Share
July 12, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
The highest income residents in DC pay less as a share of their income than the rest of us. At the same time, low-income Black and brown DC residents have been economically devastated by the pandemic. Watch videos
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Tax Injustice: DC’s Richest Residents Pay Lower Taxes than Everyone Else
March 5, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
A tax system that adequately advances racial and economic justice must be progressive, requiring the richest people to pay a much higher share of their income in taxes than lower-income families who have little or no wiggle room in their family budget. Yet new findings from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a […]
The DC Line: – David Schwartzman: By Offsetting Federal Tax Cuts Locally, We Can Improve the Quality of Life for All DC Residents
April 10, 2019 • By Misha Hill
Misha Hill of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has estimated that the top 20 percent income bracket of DC residents will receive almost $700 million in federal tax cuts this year, with most ($541 million) going to the top 5 percent (with incomes above $319,000 per year). The same study finds that […]
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Narrowing Income Inequality Through the Tax Code
October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
DC’s tax system stands out in two key ways, according to a new analysis on how state tax policies affect families at different income levels. First, taxes on DC families living on very low incomes–below about $24,000 a year–are lower than in any state in the U.S. That good news is due primarily to income and property tax credits targeted to help residents working hard to make ends meet. But the analysis shows that families with incomes just above that level pay the same share of their income in DC taxes (income, sales, and property taxes) as the District’s wealthiest…
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