Tax That Tom!
While Tom never skips the opportunity to bitch about taxes, especially his perception that DC taxes are what keep him from living in the District, I never miss the opportunity to call “bullshit” on his whining.
Today, I even have backup in my contention that his grievances are groundless. While I still contend that taxes in DC, VA, and MD are very similar, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute just published a new report that says:
The common perception is that DC residents pay the highest taxes in the region. This analysis shows that after three years of substantial income and property tax cuts, taxes on middle-income DC households are now lower than in either suburban Maryland or Virginia.
And before folks say its different if you own a home – Tom’s constant contention – or have kids, they even have handy graphs of different income levels, renters & homeowners, and even family size.
My favorite? This beauty that captures my big ear-to-ear Cheshire Cat grin:
It would really help if you had read the report, Wayan. Check out this graphic, cut straight from the report:
http://tomandtiff.com/tom/marriednokids100k.png
That sums up our current situation pretty well, and you’ll notice that the bar for DC is higher than the bar for Arlington. Please do the reading before coming to class.
Sure, pull the one graph that bolsters your point and ignore the other ones lower down on the page where the total burden for two VA locales are less at all three income levels they calculated. Anyhoot, as a DC resident, I kind of feel like my taxes are wasted. I can’t say the same when I lived in VA. I certainly don’t want to send any potential kids I might have through DCPS, unless things change drastically between now and say, 6-8 years. I’ll probably head back to VA for that. NoVA schools are pretty dang good, and I’m not just talking TJ.
There’s a few more holes you can blow in that report. How many renters earning $50K a year do you think are taking deductions on their federal taxes? I’d say almost none, which means that the impact of the higher rate DC tax is more significant.
Additionally, this report doesn’t take into account the fact that property values in the district are generally higher than those in the surrounding counties, meaning that if you actually compared residents with similar homes, the DC ones are paying a higher burden. Of course, they can resell their house for more too….but that’s neither here nor there :)