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Cummings 'Vehemently Opposed' To D.C. Commuter Tax

By: Patrick Madden // August 13, 2012
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Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings says he is vehemently against letting D.C. tax commuters, according to the Baltimore Sun. Cummings, a Democrat, tells the Baltimore Sun that the move could lead to a turf war in which everybody will be taxing everybody.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who chairs a House committee that oversees the District's affairs, proposed the idea again recently, saying it should be looked at after the presidential election. Cummings is the top Democrat on that committee. No hearing to discuss the idea has been scheduled at this time; currently the Home Rule Act prevents D.C. from charging such a tax.

Maryland is the District's largest source of employees with nearly 250,000 commuting into the District to work. A 3 percent income tax on commuters would raise $1.2 billion in new revenue each year, analysts in D.C. say. That would be a significant boost for the city, which has a $9.65 billion operating budget.

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