N.Va. Leaders Decry Talk of Commuter Tax

Proposed D.C. Suit Strongly Opposed

Northern Virginia officials said yesterday that they would not hesitate to fight any legal action intended to overturn a federal ban on a District commuter tax.

Loudoun and Prince William counties probably would pass resolutions in the next two weeks opposing such a tax and directing their county attorneys to consider filing court briefs opposing a lawsuit on behalf of the District, officials in those counties said. Prince William also might request that the commonwealth's attorney get involved.

"This is a stupid, idiotic plan that should not be adopted in any way," declared Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (R), whose county has about 6,000 daily commuters to the District, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

A consortium of lawyers has said it expects to file suit within two weeks to challenge a federal law that prohibits the District from enacting a commuter tax. The D.C. Council voted Monday to join the lawsuit. If successful, the lawsuit could redirect $ 500 million to $ 1.4 billion in tax revenue toward the District and away from nearby states, particularly Virginia and Maryland.

"This would become a burden on our residents no matter how you end up looking at it," said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean T. Connaughton (R), a lawyer and one of about 17,000 county residents who commute to the District.

D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) fired back, saying the suburbs are against a commuter tax because they unfairly benefit from the current arrangement. "The only argument [the suburbs] have is: 'We're greedy. We do not want to pay our fair share,' " Evans said. "I'm appalled at the people in Virginia. They're living up to their reputation of being narrow-minded. When you think of people in Virginia, you think of them as backward, and they confirm it on something like this."

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) said he continues to support a long-dormant proposal to carve out a portion of the federal income tax paid by D.C. commuters and send it directly to the District. But he said he was disappointed about the proposed lawsuit.

"What's such a shame about this new proposal is that they've basically declared war on the region," Duncan said.

Duncan added that he would be talking to leaders in Virginia, "pushing for a united response to this from the entire region. We had unity in pushing for the federal government to pay their true cost. Now the District has broken ranks and wants to go it alone."

Virginia and Maryland could lose revenue if the District imposes a commuter tax, because states typically offer a credit to residents to offset income taxes paid to other jurisdictions.

About 500,000 workers have jobs in the District but pay taxes to Richmond, Annapolis or other home-state capitals, according to census data. About 74,000 people live in Washington and work outside the city.

The commuter tax ban, incorporated into the 1974 D.C. Home Rule Act, was passed by Congress to protect the treasuries of surrounding states, which supply more than 70 percent of the city's workforce.