Our Fiscal Year 2027 Policy Priorities
Taxing Wealth through Capital Gains: Capital gains—profit from selling assets like stocks—overwhelmingly flow to the top 1 percent.
Make business taxes fair: Restructure DC’s business taxes by enacting a Business Activity Tax so that corporations operating in the District and benefitting from our economy and services, but currently not paying taxes to DC, contribute to our shared resources.
Looking for more details? Read our full tax policy proposal below.
Increase Capital Gains Tax
This proposal would raise the income tax on capital gains income by 1 percentage point for taxpayers with an AGI over $500,000 and only for capital gains income at or above that level, meaning capital gains below the threshold would still benefit from the lower marginal tax rates in current law. Similarly, the proposal would raise the income tax on capital gains income by 2 percentage points for taxpayers with an AGI between $750,000 and $1 million, and by 3 percentage points for taxpayers with an AGI over $1 million. Just under 2 percent of taxpayers would be affected by these surcharges.
Revenue Prospect: $123 million
Tax the Transfer of Capital Gains Income
If a DC resident leaves an appreciated asset to an heir upon death, neither they nor the heir will ever owe capital gains tax on the growth in value up to that point. DC should eliminate this tax loophole, called the “stepped-up basis,” which encourages wealthy people to turn as much of their income as possible into untaxed assets that will generate capital gains and then hold onto those assets until death.
Revenue Prospect:$44 million
Implement a Land Value Tax for funding WMATA
Transit is the lifeblood of DC's movement. However, because WMATA does not have a dedicated revenue source, transportation for DC residents is subject to cyclical threats. To finally give Metro the resources it needs, the District should enact a land value (or split-rate) tax on areas within a mile of MetroRail stations. This would also have the added benefit of channeling transit-created land values back into the system that made them in the first place, while encouraging transit-oriented development.
Revenue Prospect: $505.1 million