D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday proposed raising sales and commercial property taxes to help finance about half of the $178.5 million the city will dedicate to Metro each year.
“We focus only on commercial properties because we know that they have benefited a lot from the Metro system and will benefit even more from an improved Metro system,” Bowser said during a conference call with reporters.
The plans were outlined in Bowser’s $14.5 billion fiscal 2019 budget proposal, which she said prioritizes investments in infrastructure, education, affordable housing and public safety. Nearly half of the budget, $6.5 billion, is dedicated to human support services and public education.
The District’s portion of $500 million in dedicated Metro funding — the remainder coming from Virginia and Maryland — would flow from two main sources. About 55 percent, or $98.2 million, would be culled from existing funds like pay-go capital and operating savings. The other 45 percent, or $80.3 million, would come from new revenue.