The longest federal government shutdown in history took its toll on D.C.’s revenue, but in the long-term, Amazon to the rescue?
That’s the word from D.C. Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWitt, whose revised revenue estimates for the current fiscal year 2019 are now flat compared to the previous year, down $41.4 million from the December estimates.
There are two reasons. One, the five-week federal shutdown cost the District $47.4 million, which will be slightly offset by $6 million of higher than anticipated deed, interest income and unclaimed property tax collections. And two, 2019 is the first year that a portion of D.C.’s sales tax is shifted to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to support the Metrorail system.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2020 and beyond, slower growth in population, employment and income, combined with continuing federal cutbacks, will not have a great negative impact on D.C.’s revenue largely because Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is on the way…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
