Cummings Slams Proposed Commuter Tax

250,000 Marylanders commute to D.C. for work

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings says he is vehemently against letting the District of Columbia tax commuters.

Cummings told The Baltimore Sun that the move could lead to a turf war in which "everybody will be taxing everybody."

Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican who chairs a House committee that oversees the district's affairs, proposed the idea again recently, saying it should be looked at following the presidential election.

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

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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