Legislators at the John A. Wilson Building passed a budget. (Photo by David Gaines)

The D.C. Council passed a $13.8 billion budget on Tuesday, ultimately deciding to keep in place $100 million in tax cuts.

Nearly 100 social justice-oriented organizations had requested that D.C. government delay the round of tax cuts, which were passed in 2014, but triggered this year by the city’s current revenues. They argued that the city needed the money for housing, transit, and education spending, and that the cuts largely benefited the city’s wealthiest residents.

Mayor Muriel Bowser opted to preserve the tax cuts when she presented her budget, as did a majority of the members of the D.C. Council during yesterday’s vote.

At-large Councilmember David Grosso introduced two last-minute amendments to the budget that would have delayed the cuts, both of which were voted down.

One targeted the estate tax, which would delay residents’ ability to exempt up to federal level of $5.49 million, rather than the current 2 million. That measure failed 9-4 with Ward 1’s Brianne Nadeau, Ward 8’s Trayon White, and At-large Councilmember Elissa Silverman backing the delay.

Silverman explained her vote by calling the estate tax “the most progressive tax we have. It only affects the wealthiest, and it is an incredibly effective tool for combating income inequality. If you say you want to fight income inequality here in the District, I just don’t know how you can support raising the exemption for the estate tax.”

Grosso’s other amendment would have canceled the decrease in the local business franchise tax to 8.25 percent from 9 percent, and it did not pass by a vote of 10-3. Silverman and Nadeau voted alongside Grosso.

In voting against the amendments, At-large Councilmember Robert White said that delaying the cuts “will broadcast to our constituents that our word means nothing and that we are not capable of making strategic decisions to use a $14 billion budget to address our critical needs.”

Council Chair Phil Mendelson said that this budget keeps in place about 98 percent of the mayor’s proposal.

One major change is in per-pupil funding for education, where the mayor got heat for only calling for a 1.5 percent increase, lower than the customary 2 percent increase. The council’s budget increases per-pupil spending by 3 percent.

For more on housing-specific investments in the budget, Washington City Paper has a good rundown. Greater Greater Washington looks at the budget’s impact on transit, specifically the streetcar.

The council’s final vote on the budget is scheduled for June 13. If it passes, it goes to the mayor’s desk for her signature.

Previously:
Should D.C. Stick To Its Schedule To Cut Taxes?
Bowser Spars With D.C. Council Over Spending Priorities