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Advocates urge DC to tax concentrated wealth to fund services and housing
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Summary
A community organizer and other witnesses urged the Council to pursue progressive revenue options—such as higher taxes on top incomes and capital gains—to fund services for vulnerable residents and address gaps in housing and social supports.
At the Committee on Business and Economic Development hearing, advocates urged the Council to consider progressive revenue measures—taxing capital gains, raising income taxes for top earners and implementing a business-activity tax—to generate revenue for housing, social services and other programs serving low-income residents.
Abby (Abhi) Shakur, a Ward 1 resident and community organizer with Choose United for Justice, and other witnesses argued that tax increases on concentrated wealth would provide the revenue needed to expand the city's safety net and reduce reliance on budget cuts and private development deals. "There is a deep well of wealth in this city that does not get equitably taxed," Shakur said, citing the 2021 Council action that raised income taxes on residents earning more than $250,000 and funded investments in housing and wages for early-childhood educators.
Shakur told the committee that past progressive revenue measures funded expansions to the Earned Income Tax Credit, created housing for roughly 2,400 families and raised wages for more than 4,000 early-childhood educators. She urged the Council to adopt the All In for DC campaign's proposals as a guide to raising revenue, including taxes on capital gains and adjustments to tax rates for residents earning over $500,000.
Why it matters: Witnesses framed the proposals as a way to fund services for the poor and working class without cutting core programs. They also tied revenue proposals to the broader housing and displacement concerns raised by other witnesses and asked the Council to prioritize investments that would benefit Black and Brown residents most affected by recent development patterns.
What was not decided: The hearing recorded testimony and no formal legislative action on tax proposals. For any tax changes, the Council would need to introduce, debate and vote on specific legislation and complete required revenue analyses.
Clarifying note: Witnesses referenced the All In for DC campaign's set of proposals and historic Council tax changes in 2021; they did not present a specific bill or revenue estimate during public testimony.
