It’s no secret that affordability remains a top-of-mind issue for American taxpayers and consumers. Bizarrely, despite pledging to raise taxes and expand unaffordable programs, far-left politicians have enjoyed electoral success.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing sweeping new tax hikes. In Seattle, Mayor Katie Wilson is waving “bye” to businesses fleeing her state’s aggressive new tax increases. And in Washington, D.C., mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George, a Democrat, will inherit a new tax on everyday goods, with the D.C. City Council dead set on passing a 20-cent tax hike on all third-party deliveries.
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Everything from diapers to Domino’s to DoorDash ordered by the more than 600,000 people who call D.C. home immediately gets more expensive if this tax increase is included in the city’s broader budget bill. Brianne Nadeau, outgoing Ward 1 City Councilor and one of the City Council’s more progressive members, has been one of the measure’s biggest proponents. Nadeau has downplayed the tax as “a modest surcharge on food delivery, just 20 cents per delivery.” Tell that to the senior on a fixed income who relies on grocery deliveries due to limited mobility, or to the working parents who need formula or diapers for their newborn.
These lawmakers don’t like to admit it, but tax hikes hurt everyone. Among those hit the hardest would be the D.C. restaurant community, still reeling from the last half-decade marked by a worldwide pandemic, persistent inflation, and labor shortages. Last year, a record number of D.C. restaurants closed, up significantly from previous years.
Delivery options are a proven shot in the arm for a restaurant industry that, even under the best of circumstances, operates in challenging and competitive conditions. Delivery is linked to higher revenue and spending, more and new customers, and increased profits.
Not surprisingly, the restaurant community is making its voice heard about the implications of this delivery tax. The D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Washington D.C. Black Chamber, and the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber have voiced their opposition.
The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington has noted that, “A 20 cent surcharge today could easily become a larger fee tomorrow, or expand into other hospitality related transactions. Once a new dedicated revenue stream is created, it rarely goes away.”
Outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser has listed the delivery tax among the policies that threaten to make “DC More Unaffordable for Residents.” A Washington Post editorial noted, “the city cannot tax its way out of a growth problem.”
Workers are also fed up with the “tax everything” approach. Last week, a group of DoorDash drivers made a different kind of delivery to City Hall: a petition with more than 500 signatures from residents urging the council to drop the tax. As one driver told reporters, “adding this tax not only hurts the consumer, it also hurts the drivers.”
Colorado and Minnesota, two other states that implemented a similar delivery tax scheme, have experienced immediate voter backlash. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Colorado voters and 57% of those in Minnesota oppose the new tax.
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In recent years, overtaxed residents have voted with their feet. High-tax jurisdictions such as California, Illinois, and New York are losing population, while numbers surge in Texas and Florida, where life is cheaper. That trend could easily take hold in Washington D.C., where Maryland and Virginia — in addition to low-tax West Virginia — beckon within reach.
The D.C. Council, which includes the city’s incoming mayor, has until July 7 to get this right and kibosh this misguided policy. Lawmakers must reject this tax before businesses, workers, and residents pay the price.
Ross Marchand is the executive director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
