D.C. Fiscal Future Glows; Rosy Outlook May Mean Tax Cuts
The District government has made such a dramatic financial turnaround that city officials are considering a tax cut and projecting hundreds of millions of dollars of budget surpluses for the next five years.</br></br>After years of deficits, the upbeat projections indicate that the city's recently announced $185.9 million surplus for 1997 was not a one-time achievement. Instead, it marked a turning point in the city's rebound from the depths of a financial crisis that may enable local leaders to cut taxes, officials said.</br></br>D.C. financial control board Chairman Andrew F. Brimmer said the city's finances have improved so substantially that both residents and businesses may get a tax cut later this year. Rather than amassing large surpluses and having money in the bank, Brimmer said, part of the surpluses could be used to fund a tax reduction that would make the city a more attractive place to live and work.</br></br>Brimmer said the details of a tax cut would have to be determined through "serious discussions" involving the D.C. Council and Mayor Marion Barry, who also has said he favors cutting taxes.</br></br>"The taxpayers in the District ought to look forward to a tax reduction," Brimmer said. "The capacity is there."