ACLU of the District of Columbia

ALT Disapproval would wreak havoc on tax filings already underway in the District of Columbia - in effect "changing the rules in the middle of the game." Early taxpayers would have to re-file. All instruction materials would instantly become inaccurate. It would take at least another month to correct and re-publish them. Decoupling certain provisions of the local tax code from the federal tax code will retain approximately $600 million in local dollars for the District. This is roughly the same amount that the District is being asked, by Maryland and Virginia, to pay as an increase in its contribution to the regional public transportation system, WMATA. The Council's action - decoupling - is not unique to the District. Last fall, 12 states (including Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) decoupled from various parts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Decoupling is not the same as raising taxes. Rather, it maintains the status quo for taxpayers regarding local taxes. On t

ALT Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Leader Thune, and Leader Schumer: We write to express our strong opposition to Joint Resolution of Disapproval H.J. Res. 142 and Joint Resolution of Disapproval S.J. Res. 102. These resolutions are an intrusion on the District’s Home Rule authority and would have major and immediate impacts on tax administration in the District. We very strongly urge you and your colleagues to oppose these resolutions. The District of Columbia is one of many jurisdictions across the Nation that routinely modifies its local tax code in accordance with federal tax laws, including choosing to decouple from federal tax changes to address local concerns or mitigate projected fiscal impacts. At the end of last year, multiple states and the District decided to decouple their tax codes from some provisions of H.R. 1. While the District adopted the majority of H.R. 1 provisions, a small number were temporarily set aside. These decisions were made through the District’s leg