A legislative update: Yesterday, the DC Council voted to table a bill that would have given a big tax break to the businesses located in Union Station and would have cost the District an estimated $34 million in revenue. In discussions prior to the formal council meeting, one councilmember said that the bill is “dead” and not likely to be considered again.
Yesterday’s judicious decision by the DC Council is a great first step toward more sensible, equitable, and transparent economic development for our city. When asked about his concerns with the bill in a press conference Monday, Chairman Vincent Gray replied, “Just the fact that we’re doing it.”
We agree, and we thank Chairman Gray for being outspoken on the issue. The Union Station tax break was costly, unfair and deceptive. If the bill had passed, the Starbucks in Union Station would have been exempt from any commercial property tax, while Sidamo Coffee & Tea a few blocks away on H Street NE would have had to pay it. That’s not right. In addition, the bill hid the true cost of the tax break’estimated by the District’s Chief Financial Officer to be “substantial”’by starting the exemption in Fiscal Year 2016, just outside the District’s required four-year financial reporting window.
We hope the Council will remain vigilant when making decisions to give away our tax dollars. The Council considers numerous tax breaks each session’yesterday there were five other exemptions or abatements that did not get tabled and will be voted upon at the beginning of October. Each should be scrutinized to ensure our investment in them will bring even bigger benefits to the District.
That’s why DCFPI and other groups support the Exemptions and Abatements Information Act of 2009. We hope the bill will be voted out of the Committee on Finance and Revenue soon, so it can be considered by the full Council.
