It’s a rare thing for the Washington Post editorial board and ATR to agree on matters of public policy; so when it happens, it worth pointing out. Yesterday’s Washington Post included a an editorial arguing that Mayor Fenty and the DC City Council should cut spending and not raise taxes in their effort to close a half a billion dollar deficit.

The WaPo editorial correctly points out that the proposed tax increases on an array of goods and services such as soda, income, sporting event tickets, gym memberships, pre-paid wireless minutes and even vacant property “would place new burdens on Washingtonians while placing the District at a competitive disadvantage with its suburban neighbors.”

While they are correct, it’s too bad they didn’t point this out last year when the DC City Council raised the cigarette tax to a level higher than Maryland’s and well above that of its other neighbor, Virginia. The competitive disadvantage created by that levy hike actually had a negative impact on District coffers. Similarly, while the proposed soda tax won’t improve public health, it will certainly be a boon to VA and MD retailers at the expense of DC businesses. Same goes for the proposed taxes on pre-paid wireless minutes and gym memberships, which won’t resolve the District’s budget woes but will boost the bottom line for cellular retailers and gyms in Maryland and Virginia.

It appears the Washington Post has learned its lesson on the adverse effects of raising taxes, hopefully DC council members have as well. ATR urges Washingtonians to contact their Council member today and urge them to reject calls for higher taxes as they work to complete the budget by the May 27 budget deadline.

Take action today: Simply CLICK HERE to contact your representative on the City Council and make your voice heard!

See below for your Council member's contact information:

Vincent C. Gray, Council Chairman
vgray@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8032

David A. Catania, Councilmember (At-Large)
dcatania@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-7772

Phil Mendelson, Councilmember (At-Large)
pmendelson@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8064

Kwame R. Brown, Councilmember (At-Large)
kbrown@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8174

Michael A. Brown, Councilmember (At-Large)
mbrown@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8105

Jim Graham, Councilmember (Ward 1)
jgraham@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8181

Jack Evans, Councilmember (Ward 2)
jackevans@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8058

Mary M. Cheh, Councilmember (Ward 3)
mcheh@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8062

Muriel Bowser, Councilmember (Ward 4)
mbowser@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8052

Harry Thomas, Jr., Councilmember (Ward 5)
hthomas@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8028

Tommy Wells, Councilmember (Ward 6)
twells@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8072

Yvette M. Alexander, Councilmember (Ward 7)
yalexander@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8068

Marion Barry, Councilmember (Ward 8)
mbarry@dccouncil.us
Tel:  (202) 724-8045

Posted by Patrick Gleason on Monday, May 17, 2010 8:07 PM EDT

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