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DC Sales Tax Holiday, Citizen Summit IV, Board of Real Estate Regulation Changes, OTR Delinquent Tax Fee, Minority Enterprise Development Day, DHCD NOFA, Enterprise Zone Tax Incentives, DCRA Zoning Administrator, Condo Conversion
The DC Main Streets Tax Free Holiday campaign promotes holiday shopping in DC Main Streets neighborhood business districts during the District-wide Sales Tax Holidays, which take place every year in August (for back-to-school) and after Thanksgiving. In 2005, the fall Sales Tax Holiday is from Friday, November 25 through Sunday, December 4. During this period, buyers are exempt from the 5.75 percent sales tax for shoes, clothing, accessories, and other gift items. The exemption covers each item costing $100 or less. During the 10-day, two-weekend break, the sales tax exemption will apply to each eligible item regardless of how many items are sold on the same bill to a customer. The DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) administers the DC Sales Tax Holiday and produces guidance materials for local retailers. reSTORE DC coordinates with the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) to promote awareness and understanding of the sales tax holiday and works with DC Main Street programs to help local businesses take advantage of this tax holiday to increase sales in DC's neighborhood business districts. reSTORE DC / DC Main Streets helped organize the DC sales tax holiday events in August 2005 and Fall 2004. The DC sales tax holidays are the result of a legislative initiative by Councilmember Carol Schwartz to encourage people to purchase items in the District of Columbia. It is important that retailers understand the details of the DC sales tax holiday, particularly since, by law, it will occur twice a year, every year. For retailers with merchandise that is covered by the tax holiday, this annual shopping promotion offers an opportunity to draw shoppers to the store and to the District for lower-cost shopping. Retailers must understand what types of merchandise are covered by each tax holiday (different items are included in the summer and fall events) and what steps must be taken to report sales taxes during this period. OTR's information for retailers provides information to assist with understanding and participating in the sales tax holiday. Visit reSTORE DC.
2. Citizen Summit IV - November 19th, 2005 Mayor Anthony A. Williams will host the District of Columbia's Citizen Summit IV on Saturday, November 19, from 8:30 am - 4 pm, at the Washington Convention Center. Mayor Williams will convene citizens, elected officials and community leaders to begin making the tough choices involved in determining the citywide policies and priorities of the District government on the future of our library system, youth development, employment and economic opportunity, and affordable housing. Over the past six years, Mayor Williams has engaged more than 10,000 citizens in this unique planning process. As in past years, the daylong Citizen Summit - the largest town hall meeting in the United States - will significantly influence decisions on the District's annual spending priorities and legislative initiatives. To register to attend the summit or to volunteer, visit the Citizen Summit webpage or call (888) 551-9200. District residents may call (202) 727-2823.
3. DC Board of Real Estate Announces Consumer Protection Changes to Regulations DC Board of Real Estate Chairperson Constance W. Maffin, GRI, announced revised real estate regulations for Chapters 26-27 of the Non-Health Related Occupations and Professions Licensure Act of 1998. This proposed rulemaking amends previous real estate licensing rules to reflect changes in legal requirements for the licenses and practices of real estate brokers, salespeople, and property managers. To assure that buyers know when they are acquiring historic properties, the board added a three-part question to the seller disclosure statement. Licensees are required to tell sellers about these requirements. A new consumer protection provision requires all agents to provide true names, phone numbers, and broker companies on all their advertising, including business cards. The board also voted to increase the continuing education requirements for the 2005-2007 licensing cycle for all licensees to three hours in DC Ethics Update (new); three hours in DC Fair Housing and Predatory Lending; three hours in DC Legislative Update, Rent Control and Landlord-Tenant Housing Rights; and six hours of general electives. For more information visit DCRA.
4. Office of Tax and Revenue to Charge New Collection Fee on Delinquent Taxes The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) announced that it will begin assessing a collection fee on delinquent tax liabilities of individual and business taxpayers. In accordance with a new law passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, OTR will charge a collection fee of 10 percent on tax liabilities that range from $200 to $49,999, and a fee of $5,000 on tax liabilities of $50,000 and up. The effective date of this change is October 1, 2005. It is estimated that the District of Columbia loses millions of dollars in potential revenue because many individuals and businesses fail to pay their District taxes. In an effort to address this situation, the District's budget for fiscal year 2006 authorizes OTR to charge delinquent taxpayers a collection fee for the costs of compliance. This new collection fee will be added to tax liabilities that have remained unpaid for more than 90 days. For questions concerning this new law, contact OTR's Collection Division at (202) 724-5045 or Customer Service at (202) 727-4829. Delinquent taxpayers can pay their outstanding liabilities by credit card online or by calling Official Payments Corporation toll free at 1(800)272-9829 (available 24 hours a day / seven days a week). For more information visit the Office of Tax and Revenue.
5. Minority Enterprise Development Day On Thursday, November 17, from 2 pm to 7 pm, Minority Business Development Center (MBDC) will sponsor Minority Enterprise Development Day, featuring seminars on joint ventures, bonding, and subcontracting. The event will take place at DLA Piper Rudnick, 1200 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC. The cost for the program is $40 in advance or $50 at the door. For more information or to register, visit MBDC or call (202) 671-1552.
6. DHCD Notice of Funding Availability Jalal Greene, director of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), announced a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for $41 million in funding under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the Home Investment Partnerships (HOME), Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) programs, administered by DHCD. CDBG, HPTF, LIHTC and HOME funds for this NOFA are being made available from anticipated fiscal year 2006 budget funds. This NOFA is being conducted pursuant to the fiscal year 2006 (October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006) Consolidated Action Plan prepared for submission to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Completed applications must be delivered on or before 4 pm, Friday, January 6, 2006, to the DHCD, Development Finance Division, 801 North Capitol Street, NE, Second Floor Reception Desk, Washington, DC 20002. For additional information, contact the DHCD's Development Finance Division at (202) 442-7280 or visit DHCD.
7. Enterprise Zone Tax Incentives Class Many DC businesses are leaving money on the table by not taking advantage of Enterprise Zone (EZ) Tax Incentives. Linda Schakel, one of the nation's experts on EZ Tax Credits, will provide a step-by-step introduction to Enterprise Zone tax credits. Attendees will learn who can claim Enterprise Zone tax credits, what credits can be claimed, and how to claim them. The free session will be held on Wednesday, November 30, from 6 pm to 8 pm in the e-BIC Video Conference Center in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G Street, NW. Learn more about EZ Tax Credits at reSTORE DC's website Find out if you are in an Enterprise Zone using a map locator tool. For more information on this class, visit the e-BIC. To sign up for this class, call (202) 727-2241 or email ebic@dc.gov.
8. Zoning Administrator Appointed at Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Director Patrick Canavan announced the appointment of Bill Crews as DCRA Zoning Administrator. Crews is an attorney and brings more than 20 years of land use experience to the position. For the last seven years, he has been an attorney-advisor in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), facilitating state and local intergovernmental planning and cooperation. From 1984 to 1998, he served as Mayor of Melbourne, Iowa, where he led efforts to implement a comprehensive overhaul of local zoning laws. From 1995 to 1998, he was the principal of Heartland Public Policy Consultants, which provided a variety of land use and environmental legal and advocacy services to clients. Prior to that, Crews served four years as Marshall County Zoning Administrator, following a stint as director of The Nature Conservancy programs in Iowa. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law, where he focused on natural resource and land use law. Since coming to the District of Columbia in 1998, Crews has been elected twice as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Single Member District 6C07, and has regularly testified on his constituents' behalf before the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). Read the original announcement.
9. DCRA Wins Condo Conversion Challenge On October 28, Superior Court Judge Gerald Fisher awarded the District of Columbia (DC) a significant victory over attempts by the 1613 Harvard Limited Partnership ("Harvard Limited") owners to evict tenants at 1613 Harvard Street, NW (Embassy Apartments), by violating condominium conversion laws. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) represented the District. Judge Fisher declared that the tenants were deprived of their rights and that the conversion was invalid, because the owners failed to follow provisions of DC's condo conversion laws, including the requirement to notify prospective tenants about conversion plans. The owners of the building, 1613 Harvard Limited Partnership, had claimed that their registration of the building in 1980 met the legal requirements for notice to tenants under the 1981 Condominium Conversion Act. Judge Fisher found that the conversion process was never completed because the owners did not file the required legal instruments with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and that prospective tenants should have been notified of the pending conversion. He also declared the 1981 registration to be invalid because the owners simply took an unreasonable amount of time to complete the conversion process, stating, "Having failed to exercise its right to convert for 19 years since it acquired the property and for almost 25 years since the property was approved for conversion, Harvard is equitably barred from doing so now." Many current tenants only learned of the owners' intentions when they saw newspaper advertisements offering their units for sale as condominiums. They took their concerns to the District in January 2005. DCRA concluded, after a review of the 24-year history, that the 1981 registration did not meet the requirements of the law and that new tenants were deprived of their rights when Embassy did not advise them of their conversion plans. Using enforcement authority under the Condominium Conversion Act, DCRA issued a "cease and desist" order against Embassy owners in March 2005, prohibiting transfer of the property pending investigation. Read the original announcement.
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