The Fair Budget Coalition (FBC) is a project of the Social Good Fund devoted to advocating for left-of-center tax policy in Washington D.C., including higher taxes on the rich, more tax credits for low-income earners, and an income-graduated fine system. A 2023 letter from FBC to the District’s Tax Revision Commission stated that “racial equity” should be the “goal” of reforming Washington D.C.’s tax policies. ¹

Beliefs

The Fair Budget Coalition advances left-of-center policies for the tax code of Washington, D.C., to make it more progressive. According to FBC, the tax code has “racist roots” because property taxes and capital gains taxes “disproportionately benefit White households more than households of color.” The group argues that, historically, Black home ownership has been suppressed by “redlining” and other racist practices perpetrated by the financial industry. Further, Black individuals who did manage to purchase homes were suppressed by receiving excessive home valuations that caused them to pay higher taxes. FBC claims that some form of this racism continues to exist as evidenced by the higher rate of home ownership in Washington, D.C., for white residents compared to non-white residents. Likewise, FBC argues capital gains taxes were established to benefit white investors at the expense of Black citizens. ²

Goals

The Fair Budget Coalition’s 2024 platform recommended that Washington, D.C. create a child tax credit for low-income families excluded from the federal child tax credit policy, including “immigrant households with an undocumented parent.” ³

FBC’s 2024 platform recommended increasing property taxes on high-valued homes, which FBC considers “a relatively straightforward mechanism for taxing wealth.” ⁵

FBC’s 2024 platform recommended implementing a “progressive ticketing system” that would make fines and fees proportional to the income levels of offenders. ⁶

FBC’s 2024 platform’s other recommendations include a congestion tax, more audits on high-income earners, and automating the earned income tax credit. ⁷

FBC successfully supported the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, which, among other provisions, raised the Washington, D.C., income tax for individuals making over $250,000 annually. ⁸

In 2020, FBC led a campaign to encourage Washington, D.C., to increase its housing repair fund by $25 million. ⁹

In 2016, FBC sent a letter to Washington D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-DC) asking for her to reform a proposed plan to close a large homeless shelter and open seven smaller shelters throughout the city. FBC claimed the plan was too expensive and offloaded too much of the costs to local neighborhoods; FBC and asked the mayor to build the new shelters on city-owned land. ¹⁰

FBC has advocated for increasing Washington D.C.’s rental assistance program. ¹¹

Members

As of March 2024, the Fair Budget Coalition has 35 organizational members including DC for Democracy, Jews United for Justice, Ward 3 Democrats, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, DC Green State, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the ACLU of the District of Columbia, the DC Statehood Green Party, and the Working Families Party. The FBC also has two dozen other individual members. ¹²

Leadership

Niciah Mujahid has been the executive director of the Fair Budget Coalition since June 2021. She is also the executive director of Herb and Temple, which calls itself “a community organization that seeks the liberation and restoration of BIPOC by bridging spirituality and holistic wellness with political efficacy through education.” Mujahid was a graduate fellow for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and previously worked for the Fund for the Public Interest. ^{13 14}

Erika Taylor is a member of FBC’s executive committee. Taylor is the director of popular education for Take on Wall Street, a campaign of Americans for Financial Reform. She previously worked for the Washington D.C. Working Families Party, ONE DC, DC ACORN, the Tenants and Workers Support Committee, YouthActionNet, and the Public Welfare Foundation. ¹⁵

Mandla Deskins is a member of FBC’s executive committee and currently serves as the national director of advocacy for the NAACP. ¹⁶ Deskins was formerly an advocacy manager at Take on Wall Street. ¹⁷

1. “Imagining A #Fair Tax System.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/imaginine-a-fair-tax-system/.
2. “Imagining a Fair Tax System.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Imagining_a_Fair_Tax_System.pdf.
3. “Fair Taxes & Public Deals Issue Group.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FY_2024_Fair_Taxes_and_Public_Deals_Platform.pdf.
5. “Fair Taxes & Public Deals Issue Group.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FY_2024_Fair_Taxes_and_Public_Deals_Platform.pdf.

   FBC’s 2024 platform recommended decreasing the value of the exemption for estate taxes, which the District sets at $4 million as of 2024. ⁴ “Fair Taxes & Public Deals Issue Group.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FY_2024_Fair_Taxes_and_Public_Deals_Platform.pdf.

6. “Fair Taxes & Public Deals Issue Group.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FY_2024_Fair_Taxes_and_Public_Deals_Platform.pdf.
7. “Fair Taxes & Public Deals Issue Group.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FY_2024_Fair_Taxes_and_Public_Deals_Platform.pdf.
8. “Imagining a Fair Tax System.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Imagining_a_Fair_Tax_System.pdf.
9. Tebo, Eliza. “‘Black Homes Matter’ Advocates Urge D.C. Lawmakers To Prioritize Housing Ahead Of 2021 Budget Vote.” WAMU 88.5. July 6, 2020. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://wamu.org/story/20/07/06/black-homes-matter-advocates-urge-d-c-lawmakers-to-prioritize-housing-ahead-of-2021-budget-vote/.
10. Austermule, Martin. “Coalition Asks Mayor To Make Big Changes To D.C. Homeless Shelter Plan.” WAMU 88.5. April 27, 2016. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://wamu.org/story/16/04/27/criticism_of_bowsers_plan_to_replace_dc_general_with_smaller_shelters_grows_louder/.
11. Cuccia, Annemarie. “Within days, DC’s rental assistance program maxes out during first application window.” The DC Line. October 13, 2023. Updated January 12, 2024. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://thedcline.org/2023/10/13/within-days-dcs-rental-assistance-program-maxes-out-during-first-application-window/.
12. “Coalition Members.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/about/coalition-members/.
13. ^[1] “Nicah Petrovic Mujahid.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/niciah-petrovic-mujahid-46575953/.
14. “Homepage.” Herb and Temple. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.herbandtemple.org/.
15. ^[1] “Executive Committee.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/team/executive-committee/.
16. “Executive Committee.” Fair Budget Coalition. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://fairbudget.org/team/executive-committee/.
17. “Mandla Deskins.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtdeskinslinkedin/.