The DC Fiscal Policy Institute shapes racially-just tax, budget, and policy decisions to advance an antiracist, equitable future.

Joined December 2010
DC Council shouldn’t let the planned sales tax increase go into effect next October. Residents with low incomes typically spend every dollar they take in and end up devoting a larger share of their income on purchases subject to sales tax.
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A Wealth Proceeds Tax would raise nearly $200 million in fiscal year 2027, according to DC’s Office of Revenue Analysis, and would largely apply to very wealthy households.
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A Wealth Proceeds Tax would also improve racial equity: Centuries of extractive policies and practices that have stripped BIPOC people of wealth while allowing white people to amass extreme wealth and grow it across generations.
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Racial justice requires unrigging this system, and taxing wealth more heavily, to build a future where everyone can thrive.
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DC should implement a Business Activity Tax. It’s profoundly unfair that the often very high-income lawyers and consultants with clients in DC but not living here aren’t held to the same standard as non-resident owners of DC restaurants and dry-cleaners.
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A Business Activity Tax would close a loophole that lets law firms, lobbying shops, and consulting firms with non-resident owners skip DC business taxes entirely. That revenue could make childcare affordable for DC families and help end chronic homelessness.
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The irony of this is that the wealthiest DC taxpayers escape a ton of taxation at death b/c of existing tax breaks that advantage wealth & capital gains, hence the need for a Wealth Proceeds Tax @dcfpi explains more in this “buy, borrow, die” infographic. dcfpi.org/wp-content/uploads…
Replying to @maustermuhle
Williams points to the estate tax. "Not sure our model should be, 'Come to D.C. and die,' but we shouldn't force people to leave as they are managing their last affairs. We could say we are going to reduce our estate tax by 25%... that’s a signal you can send," he said.
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🚨🚨 Once again, anti-tax advocates are fear-mongering about “tax flight,” a myth that has survived on cherry-picked anecdotes despite mountains of research that disproves it. dcfpi.org/all/state-tax-leve…
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New data for tax year 2023 continues to show that there is no drop-off in the number of high-income DC households in the wake of the 1.8 percentage point increase in top income tax rates in 2022.
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DC’s highest-income residents are among the District’s most stable populations. Substantial research demonstrates that high housing costs are a major driver of interstate migration and the vast majority of households that move out of higher tax states have incomes under $200,000.
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Head of @DCFPI, @EricaWilli, said over 50% of income earned in D.C. is earned by non-residents. That means there's a lot of revenue capacity we're prevented from tapping thanks to the way the Home Rule Act is written; a BAT would help the District do so.
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Today, @EricaWilli is testifying to DC Council about the need to address inadequate revenue growth given structural changes to the economy. You can watch here: dc.granicus.com/player/event…
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Contrary to claims that DC’s tax and spending is “out of control,” the revenue DC has collected for the Local Fund Budget as a share of the economy has been steady over time. Not accounting for inflation produces an exaggerated picture of budget growth. dcfpi.org/all/dcs-local-reve…
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DC Council can raise needed revenue by taxing the District’s concentration of wealth and closing a loophole that allows certain businesses whose owners live outside of DC to avoid paying taxes.
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