DC Council would like to drive wealthier people out in to the suburbs by raising taxes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's obvious that most of you on this board have no idea what taxation does to people and how it affects where they choose to live.

Unfortunately for DC, unlike other states, it has no real middle class who normally are able to share in the tax burden. In this city you have the wealthy (who pay almost all of the taxes), and the poor (who pay little to no taxes at all). Let's face it if only 40% of Americans actually pay taxes you know that most of the families here in DC earning $30k with 2 plus kids are living off of social services. Until the city fixes its schools and draws more middle class residents in (while making it unattractive for poorer residents to leach off city resources) there will always be a system of class warfare where the "rich" will be continued to get robbed on April 15th to pay for the lifestyles of the poor. At a point it becomes easier to just move to VA, pay less in taxes (4% less) and still work in DC, still send your kids to DC privates and not be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars.

Personally as a DC resident Im afraid that if Vincent Gray and Kwame Brown take over they will embark on a plan of social and economic redistribution and bleed wealthier residents dry. Adrian Fenty (who may or may not be an a**hole) is a pretty good mayor who seems to understand that you don't want to drive people away from your city, you want to encourage them to move here, you want businesses to move here, THATS how you really redistribute wealth, through the private sector, the govt cant do it. Im pretty liberal myself and love this city but I feel like most Americans have no idea about simple economics (they hardly teach it in schools) and thus dont understand the impacts.

Hmm, interesting. I have moved three times in my adult life and income taxes were never a factor in my decision. In fact, the only time I even though about taxes was during my last move (to DC) where we had to figure out the property taxes to determine how much house we could afford.

[Anonymous]

Well I wsh our HHI was 500K so that I could have this problem to debate. But alas, I think you are talking about a select few, even in this city. Oh, and I do understand economics. At least I did when I obtained my business degree many, many moons ago.

[Anonymous]

If you make $200K, the tax increase might cost you $2 per day. I'm living on a fraction of that and would not contemplate changing my hairstyle for $2 a day, let alone my residence!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's obvious that most of you on this board have no idea what taxation does to people and how it affects where they choose to live.

Funny. I got the impression most of the folks on this board were honest, hard-working Americans who don't moan and complain about paying the taxes required to make society function. I suppose there are some tax-cheats and groaners who thrive on the self-pity of agonizing over something as straightforward and benign as paying taxes, but it doesn't seem to be the majority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to see a commuter tax instead. Tax all the folks who work in DC and help destroy the roads but live in the 'burbs.

Yes, many cities in the US have a commuter tax. It's not exactly Soviet Communism! But we'll never get it thanks to Congress.

PP is correct. Too many MC live in VA or MD, so they would have to exempt themselves from a commuter tax and that would craete a huge backlash--DC residents would have to pay commuter tax to MD and VA.

[Anonymous]

Agree wholeheartedly with 9:36's description of the class warfare tax policies pursued by cynical DC politicians. And the real reason that I resent being asked to pay more taxes in DC is because of the kleptocracy that is the DC Govt. The Harriet Walters tax and revenue scandal---where literally tens of millions of public dollars was stolen over a 10 year period while her fellow governmental workers were either too stupid or too crooked to blow the whistle---would simply not have happened in Fairfax or Arlington or Montgomery.

And let's not forget the millions in Parks & Recs contracts being handed out to the mayor's unqualified fraternity brothers. Or any of the other DC agency exposes which the Post publishes on a regular basis---the most recent being the bureaucrat in charge of handing out funding for AIDs support services who used the "friends & families" method for choosing the recipient non-profits instead of choosing qualified non-profits who could have spent the money effectively.

So even if DC increases the income tax rate on the wealthy, the DC government's history of malfeasance makes it very unlikely that such funds will be spent honestly and competently to help the people for whom such funds are purportedly intended.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why anybody would want to live in DC. I went to school there for four years, lived there for one summer, and have never looked back.

If your HHI is 500k, buy a nice spread in the rich part of the burbs. We have fancy private schools here too, ya know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why anybody would want to live in DC. I went to school there for four years, lived there for one summer, and have never looked back.

If your HHI is 500k, buy a nice spread in the rich part of the burbs. We have fancy private schools here too, ya know.

Nice idea, until you factor in the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why anybody would want to live in DC. I went to school there for four years, lived there for one summer, and have never looked back.

If your HHI is 500k, buy a nice spread in the rich part of the burbs. We have fancy private schools here too, ya know.

Nice idea, until you factor in the commute.

If your HHI is 500K, you can buy just across the river from DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why anybody would want to live in DC. I went to school there for four years, lived there for one summer, and have never looked back. ...

That's why so many of us like DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree wholeheartedly with 9:36's description of the class warfare tax policies pursued by cynical DC politicians. And the real reason that I resent being asked to pay more taxes in DC is because of the kleptocracy that is the DC Govt. The Harriet Walters tax and revenue scandal---where literally tens of millions of public dollars was stolen over a 10 year period while her fellow governmental workers were either too stupid or too crooked to blow the whistle---would simply not have happened in Fairfax or Arlington or Montgomery.

And let's not forget the millions in Parks & Recs contracts being handed out to the mayor's unqualified fraternity brothers. Or any of the other DC agency exposes which the Post publishes on a regular basis---the most recent being the bureaucrat in charge of handing out funding for AIDs support services who used the "friends & families" method for choosing the recipient non-profits instead of choosing qualified non-profits who could have spent the money effectively.

So even if DC increases the income tax rate on the wealthy, the DC government's history of malfeasance makes it very unlikely that such funds will be spent honestly and competently to help the people for whom such funds are purportedly intended.

Couldn't agree more. We are not in the upper bracket subject to the proposed increase, but are certainly paying a big chunk in DC taxes. I really wouldn't have a problem with paying what we can afford if a) it wasn't being pocketed by DC govt officials (there's a Harriet Walters in EVERY SINGLE DC govt agency), and b) the schools were decent.

In the interest of disclosure, I am a Fenty fan and the idea of the city being in the hands of Vince Brown scares me--like a Marion Barry redux. Why can't we get the corruption out of DC govt?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:the idea of the city being in the hands of Vince Brown scares me

Well, Kwame Gray would be even worse

Anonymous wrote:Why can't we get the corruption out of DC govt?

One reason is that Fenty supporters readily ignore his own corruption.

[jsteele]

Today the DC Council voted against higher taxes for the wealthy. Therefore, all of you who were worried about a .4% increase can stop hunting for houses in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Today the DC Council voted against higher taxes for the wealthy. Therefore, all of you who were worried about a .4% increase can stop hunting for houses in Virginia.

Jeff, I could not find the story; do you have a link?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, I could not find the story; do you have a link?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/2010/05/council_rejects_higher_taxes_f.html