{"id":2255168,"date":"2024-05-29T15:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T19:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-council-chairman-proposes-more-tax-hikes-to-counteract-bowsers-cuts-to-early-education\/"},"modified":"2024-05-29T15:47:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T19:47:34","slug":"dc-council-chairman-proposes-more-tax-hikes-to-counteract-bowsers-cuts-to-early-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-council-chairman-proposes-more-tax-hikes-to-counteract-bowsers-cuts-to-early-education\/","title":{"rendered":"DC Council chairman suggests additional tax increases to offset Bowser&#8217;s reductions in early education funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdc-council-chairman-proposes-more-tax-hikes-to-counteract-bowsers-cuts-to-early-education%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2255168&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/treasury-secy-yellen-gop-senators-discuss-economic-crisis\/\" title=\"Treasury Secy. Yellen, GOP senators discuss economic crisis\">proposing tax hikes<\/a> on businesses and homeowners to offset Mayor Muriel Bowser&#8217;s budget cuts to\u200b early education. Mendelson&#8217;s plan includes property <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schumer-spokesman-celebrates-1-9-trillion-covid-relief-plan-erases-ny-budget-deficit\/\" title=\"Schumer Spokesman Celebrates: .9 Trillion COVID Relief Plan Erases NY Budget Deficit\">tax increases<\/a> on homes over $2.5 million, higher business taxes \u2064for Paid \u200bFamily Leave, and reinstatement of the Early Childhood\u200b Educator Pay Equity Fund. Bowser claims Mendelson&#8217;s proposal could cost taxpayers $530 million in new taxes and fees.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Council of the District of Columbia<\/a> Chairman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/phil-mendelson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Phil Mendelson<\/a> is proposing tax increases on businesses and homeowners to counteract Mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/muriel-bowser\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Muriel Bowser\u2019s<\/a> budget cuts to early education funding.<\/p>\n<p>Mendelson\u2019s plan increases property taxes on homes worth more than $2.5 million, increases the tax businesses must pay toward the Paid Family Leave program, and reinstates the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. <\/p>\n<p>When she unveiled the city budget last month, Bowser <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/2952002\/bowser-unveils-2025-budget-plan-emphasis-on-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>cut<\/a> the early education funding, which costs the city $70 million annually, as part of her push to cut $500 million from city programs. <\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MMB-Letter-to-Council-Before-First-Budget-Vote-05.29.24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>letter<\/a> to the chairman obtained by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, Bowser asserted Mendelson\u2019s proposal would cost taxpayers $530 million in new taxes and fees. <\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> obtained the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MMB-Letter-to-Council-Before-First-Budget-Vote-05.29.24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>letter<\/a> ahead of the city council\u2019s first budget vote on Wednesday. <\/p>\n<p>Bowser\u2019s letter attacked the budget revisions, saying, \u201cThe Council\u2019s proposed budget and fiscal policy sets up our residents and businesses for additional tax hikes next year or large cuts to services and programs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cIf natural revenue growth does not provide the revenue needed to satisfy must-fund obligations next year, let alone keep up with the unsustainable cost growth of new initiatives the Council has raised taxes to finance, then we will be left with no choice but to initiate another round of reductions in next year\u2019s formulation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III, left, listens as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser discusses preparations for the 2022 State of the Union address during a news conference on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mendelson\u2019s new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-staff-told-us-he-misspoke-joe-biden-confuses-his-agenda-in-60-minutes-interview-so-his-staff-steps-in-to-correct-the-record-video\/\" title=\"\"Biden's Staff Told Us He Misspoke\" - Joe Biden Confuses His Agenda in 60 Minutes Interview so His Staff Steps in to Correct the Record (VIDEO)\">tax plan<\/a> would bring in approximately $100 million in revenue for the city. It comes on top of Bowser\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-unveils-massive-infrastructure-plan-calls-it-once-in-a-generation-investment\/\" title=\"Biden Unveils Massive Infrastructure Plan, Calls It \u2018Once-In-A-Generation Investment\u2019\">proposed tax increases<\/a>, which raise the sales tax from 6% to 6.5% starting in fiscal 2026 and up to 7% in the following two years. <\/p>\n<p>As Bowser and Mendelson seek to raise revenue for the city through tax increases, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcpolicycenter.org\/publications\/fare-evasion-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> published by the D.C. Policy Center found that the district lost approximately $40 million in revenue from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/suspect-arrested-in-vicious-attack-against-asian-american-man-democrats-silent-despite-stop-asian-hate-rhetoric\/\" title=\"Suspect Arrested In Vicious Attack Against Asian-American Man, Democrats Silent Despite \u2018Stop Asian Hate\u2019 Rhetoric\">fare evasion<\/a> during fiscal 2019. In 2023, the transit agency estimated that fare evasion continued to cost the city $40 million in revenue a year. <\/p>\n<p>With the passage of Washington\u2019s new crime bill, Secure D.C., the loss of Washington revenue is projected to decrease. Before the legislation was signed into law, police were not allowed to penalize the city\u2019s public transit fare evaders unless they gave a real name. Law enforcement can now target evaders by issuing a $50 civil fine to offenders. Additionally, police can arrest people who refuse to give their names. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bowser has come under widespread criticism during her time as Washington mayor, with a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3001487\/dc-mayor-muriel-bowser-approval-rating-underwater-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>poll<\/a> showing that 48% of the district\u2019s residents disapprove of her job as mayor. The number represents a 10% increase from her 37% disapproval rating in 2022. <\/p>\n<p>The mayor\u2019s tenure has overseen a rise in crime and homelessness. There were <a href=\"https:\/\/mpdc.dc.gov\/page\/district-crime-data-glance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>162<\/a> homicides in 2015, the year Bowser was elected. By 2023, the number reached 274.\u00a0Last year, crime increased 26% over 2022 data. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson proposes tax hikes on businesses and homeowners to offset Mayor Muriel Bowser&#8217;s cuts in early education funding. The plan involves property tax hikes on homes over $2.5 million, higher business taxes for Paid Family Leave, and reinstatement of certain taxes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2255169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP22059795239865.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2255168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP22059795239865.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2255168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2255168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2255168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2255168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}