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.
District of Columbia: Who Pays? 7th Edition
January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
District of Columbia Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in the District of Columbia, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly 100 percent of DC’s tax revenue. These figures depict the District’s EITC for workers with children at its […]
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…
District of Columbia: Who Pays? 6th Edition
October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
According to ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index, the District of Columbia’s local tax system does not worsen income inequality and ranks 50th on the index. The large income gap between lower- and middle-income taxpayers, as compared to the wealthy, is somewhat narrower after state and local taxes than before.
Tax Cuts 2.0 – District of Columbia
September 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called “Tax Cuts 2.0” or “Tax Reform 2.0,” which would make the temporary provisions permanent. And they falsely claim that making these provisions permanent will benefit […]
Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
May 22, 2018 • By Carl Davis
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019. State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
DCFPI: As High-Income DC Taxpayers Reap Large Federal Tax Windfalls, DC Can Make Our Tax Code More Progressive
January 22, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
According to recent estimates from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), District of Columbia residents can expect to receive an $850 million federal tax break this year.
How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect District of Columbia Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]
How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect District of Columbia Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of District of Columbia residents.
How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect District of Columbia Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 13, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In District of Columbia, 74 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 25 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect District of Columbia Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…
GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in The District of Columbia with 83.8 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in the District equally. The richest one percent of District of Columbia residents would receive 83.8 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $1,022,000 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $147,500 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 4.9 percent.
Washington Post: Ahead of regional summit, left-leaning policy groups say ‘No’ to a sales tax for Metro
August 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A regionwide one-cent sales tax to fund Metro would have a disproportionate impact on poor families, taking five times the share of income from the bottom 20 percent of earners when compared with those in the top 1 percent, according to a new analysis from a trio of left-leaning think tanks representing the District, Maryland and Virginia.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Maryland Center on Economic Policy, and The Commonwealth Institute: Triple Whammy: A Regional Sales Tax for Metro, Like Fare Hikes and Service Cuts, Would Fall Hardest on Struggling Families
August 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A strong Metro system is important to all of us in the Washington region. And everyone agrees that the Metro system needs new resources to rebuild its health. But a regional sales tax—a widely discussed option—would be an unfair way to pay for it.
In the District 62.9 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the the District population (0.9 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 62.9 percent of the tax cuts that go to the District residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 39.5 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 3.4 percent of the tax cuts.
Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in the District of Columbia with 69.5 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Washginton, D.C., would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the District’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $2,998,900 in 2018. They would receive 69.5 percent of the tax cuts that go to D.C. residents and would enjoy an average cut of $245,770 in 2018 alone.
State Rundown 5/31: Budget Woes Spurring Special Legislative Sessions
May 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, special legislative sessions featuring tax and budget debates are underway or in the works in Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, and West Virginia, as lawmakers are also running up against regular session deadlines in Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a legislative study in Wyoming and an independent analysis in New Jersey are both calling for tax increases to overcome budget shortfalls.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute: Revenue: Where DC Gets Its Money
February 9, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The DC government collects revenue in a variety of ways from its residents, businesses, and the federal government. These revenues are used to fund the wide array of services provided by the District, from schools to health care to libraries to road construction. The DC government collected about $10.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year […]
