House Republicans push bill to limit DC tax hikes by Janeese Lewis George

Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who introduced the bill, argued that D.C.’s progressive leadership is pursuing unsustainable spending plans that would require steep tax increases.“Rather than cutting spending, the ultraprogressive and socialist candidate for mayor and the D.C. Council want to tax D.C. businesses and residents into oblivion to fund their unmaintainable expansion of public programs,” Comer said. The legislation would require Congress to approve any tax increase or tax cut passed by the D.C. Council before it could take effect. It also applies to certain fees, drawing support from companies including DoorDash, which recently lobbied council members against a proposed 20-cent food delivery fee. In response, advocacy group Free DC has called on residents to boycott the company.Lewis George, who won the Democratic mayoral nomination in June, has proposed raising taxes on certain businesses, particularly law firms and lobbying firms, to help fund an expansion of childcare subsidies.While she declined to respond directly to Comer’s remarks, her office released a statement calling the legislation “unjust, unfair and mov[ing] us in the wrong direction.”The committee’s action comes as the D.C. Council prepares to debate potential tax increases this fall, when progressive lawmakers are expected to revive proposals including a wealth tax.District leaders have denounced the measure as a significant erosion of home rule.Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) called it “the most consequential reduction in D.C. home rule in modern history” and vowed to fight its passage. The bill must still pass the full House before it could be considered by the Senate.D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the legislation “would render the District incapable of recovering from the debilitating impacts of COVID, federal remote work and DOGE.”A RENEWED WAR MEANS RENEWED GOP MIDTERM WORRIESIn a letter to Comer, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, a Democrat, argued the bill is unnecessary because Congress already has the authority to block changes to the District’s tax code.Under the Home Rule Act, all permanent D.C. legislation is subject to a 30-day congressional review period before taking effect. Requiring an affirmative vote by both the House and Senate for every tax change, Mendelson wrote, would “reinsert Congress in the minutiae of local affairs.” He added: “Does Congress have time for this?”