They say the tax increase can make a dent; it’s expected to fund 2,400 additional housing vouchers over the next year alone, a four-fold increase over recent years, according to an analysis by the liberal-leaning D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute.
The bill will address a distinct form of discrimination, Kate Coventry, senior policy analyst at DCFPI, testified Wednesday. “For example, if a woman is denied service at a restaurant because she appears homeless, not because of her gender,” she said.
Earlier this year, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute released a report that recommends devoting cannabis tax revenue towards building community wealth for communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs.
According to a 2018 D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute report, racially-biased policies and practices in hiring, homeownership, and education have generated a significant wealth imbalance in the District.
In her testimony before the council in July 2020, Alyssa Noth, former policy analyst at DCFPI, & current director for intergovernmental affairs at DCPS, said expanding access to the GSA is a “small step small step toward a more equitable public school system.”
Wiith a minimum wage of $15.20 an hour, many Black DC residents can’t afford housing, as rent rates increase faster than working-class incomes, according to DCFPI.
Labor Day as a federal holiday was itself an achievement won by labor activists and a reminder that many of our rights and protections on the job are hard-won. This year, DC took important steps towards supporting workers.
Tazra Mitchell, policy director at the DCFPI, pointed to the changes made to the EITC with this amendment as a significant achievement. “I don’t believe any other state in the nation has a tax credit that’s worth 100% of the federal EITC.”
Tazra Mitchell, the policy director at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, said “this year’s budget is one of the most important in D.C. history.”
The DC Council passed a final vote on the city’s 2022 budget Tuesday, but not without some last-minute debate and changes — notably, an amendment that would significantly boost monthly tax credits for low-income families in the coming years.