4 minute read

BUSINESS briefs

Next Article
RELIGION

RELIGION

Racine Receives Legal Aid Dc Honor

Former D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine received one of two Servant of Justice Awards from Legal Aid DC at its 33rd annual dinner held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Northwest on April 19.

The Servant of Justice Award is designed to “celebrate people who have demonstrated faithful dedication and remarkable achievement in ensuring that all persons have equal and meaningful access to justice,” according to the organization’s program. Legal Aid DC assists over 9,000 low-and-middle income Washingtonians with civil cases and has a staff of 90, 65 of whom are attorneys.

Previous recipients of the Award include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (posthumously in 1993), former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (1998) and retired founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund Marian Wright Edelman (2016).

Racine served as the District’s first elected attorney general from 2015-2023. He gained national recognition for supporting District statehood, advocating on behalf of a woman’s right to an abortion, and aggressively pursuing companies violating residents’ consumer and civil rights. He presently works as a partner for the Hogan Lovells law firm.

“Legal Aid DC is a juggernaut in the public interest,” Racine said to the gathering of over 300 people.

“At the Office of the Attorney General, we used the law to help vulnerable residents.”

The co-recipient of the Servant Award was David Dantzic, a partner with the Latham & Watkins law firm. Other awardees were Cozen O’Connor law firm associate Josephine M. Bahn for the Klepper Prize for Volunteer Service. Resident Farhana Chowdhury and the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project co-received The Partnership Award.

Notables attending the event included D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring and Erek Barron, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland.

CAAB GETS $10,000 FOR WEALTH BUILDING IN MOCO

The Capital Area Asset Builders announced on April 21 that it received $10,000 in flexible funding to support the organization’s work to advance individual and community wealth building in Montgomery County. The grant, awarded by the Sharing Montgomery Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, will enable CAAB to advance its mission benefitting low-and moderate-income Black, Latinx and immigrant individuals and families. and $60,000 and residents making between $350,000 and $ 1million.

The tax rate for members of the latter group had been reduced by less than a percent.

The Tax Revision Commission also recommended increasing standard deduction and personal exemption to federal levels, which doubled the standard deduction for married filers and those who filed as head of household.

Today, Anthony Williams, former D.C. mayor, chairs the Tax Revision Commission, while D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee serves an ex-officio role, meaning he’s on the commission by virtue of his work in the D.C. government.

In total, there are 11 members, 10 of which are appointed by the mayor and D.C. Council. Other commissioners include David Catania, former D.C. council member and current managing director of Georgetown Public Affairs, Rashad Young, former District city administrator who currently serves as senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Howard University, Erica Williams, executive director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and Yesim Sayin Taylor, executive director of D.C. Policy Center.

In March, the Tax Revision Commission conducted a presentation that showed strong tax revenue growth for the current fiscal year, primarily due to the increase in property tax revenue, greater withholding of income taxes and stronger collection of sales tax via inflation and recovery of the hospitality industry.

Meanwhile, commissioners pointed out a decline in deed and estate taxes, which they described as a symptom of a weakening real property market. Oth- er declines have been seen in the gross receipts taxes, defined as taxes applied to a company’s gross sales, along with taxes for businesses grossing more than $12,000 annually.

As it compiles its recommendations, the Tax Revision Commission continues to engage small businesses, major employers, and ANC commissioners. During future meetings, commissioners will gather feedback from professionals in the hospitality and entertainment and real estate industries, along with representatives of hospitals and universities, tax professionals, coalitions and unions, and grassroots and organizing groups.

Throughout the month of May, the Tax Revision Commission will also host listening sessions virtually and in-person at THEARC in Southeast.

On the afternoon of April 25, the Tax Revision Commission met with advocacy organizations. Those scheduled to attend included Jen Jenkins of Legal Aid, David Schwartzman of Just Recovery DC, Robert Warren of People for Fairness Coalition, Kesh Ladduwahetty of DC for Democracy and Judy Estey of Platform of Hope.

During the stakeholder meeting, each speaker answered questions about how the Tax Revision Commission could better engage the community, ways the tax code could be improved, their vision for a fair tax code, recommendation for better tax administration, and how the Tax Revision Commission should resolve conflict between increasing competition and shaping a progressive tax code.

Hours before appearing before the Tax Revision Commission, Schwartzman delivered letters to council members in the Wilson Building. He said he was eager to convince them that the District’s wealthiest residents, along with corporations, need to bear much more of the tax burden than working-class Washingtonians.

“We are now witnessing the mayor and a few of her allies on the D.C. Council revisiting the era of the Control Board when the budget was balanced on the backs of the poor,” Schwartzman said. “The Tax Revision Commission has to take racial equity into full account and eliminate racial economic disparities, which are big in D.C. The millionaires are paying a little lower share of tax than low-income residents. They need to pay more so we can eliminate child poverty [and other gaps].”

Read the full story on washingtoninformer.com. WI @SamPKCollins

“We are honored to receive this grant from the Sharing Montgomery Fund,” said Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, CAAB’s CEO & executive director. “We are proudly focused on creating financial stability and long-term prosperity opportunities for Black, Latinx and immigrant community members. This grant from the Sharing Montgomery Fund will assist us to advance this objective.”

Pfc Offers Nonprofit Resource Workshop

The People of Change Coalition are sponsoring a nonprofit resource and connection workshop on April 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1801 McCormick Drive in the first-floor meeting room in Largo.

The purpose of the event is to provide resources for nonprofits and offer nonprofit leaders the opportunity to connect with funders as well as state, county, and federal agencies, and service providers. Topics include how to navigate Grants.gov, usage of sales and use tax exemption and understanding the role of the Maryland Secretary of State in charity registration, fundraising and reporting.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. For more information, call 301-772-1552. WI

@JamesWrightJr10

This article is from: