I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1295 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to tax bona fide residents of the District of Columbia in the same manner as bona fide residents of possessions of the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. GOHMERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to tax bona fide residents of the District of Columbia in the same manner as bona fide residents of possessions of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Taxation Without 4 Representation Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1295 IH (1) The phrase ‘‘no taxation without represen- 1 tation’’ was a rallying cry of many American colo- 2 nists during the period of British rule in the 1760s 3 and early 1770s. The slogan gained widespread no- 4 toriety after the passage of the Sugar Act on April 5 5, 1764. 6 (2) American colonists increasingly resented 7 having taxes levied upon them without having any 8 legislators they elected who were voting in Par- 9 liament in London. The idea that there should be no 10 taxation without representation dated back even fur- 11 ther. Benjamin Franklin stated, ‘‘it is suppos’d an 12 undoubted Right of Englishmen not to be taxed but 13 by their own Consent given thro’ their Representa- 14 tives.’’. 15 (3) This issue became even more defined in 16 1765 with the passage of the Stamp Act which was 17 the first true attempt to levy a direct tax on the 18 American colonies. Ultimately the tax was repealed, 19 but the idea of no taxation without representation 20 persisted. 21 (4) Article I, section 2, clause 1 of the United 22 States Constitution, states, ‘‘The House of Rep- 23 resentatives shall be composed of Members chosen 24 every second Year by the People of the SEVERAL 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:53 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1295 IH STATES, and the Electors in each State shall have 1 the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most 2 numerous Branch of the State Legislature.’’. 3 (5) The Organic Act of 1801 placed Wash- 4 ington, DC, under the exclusive jurisdiction of the 5 United States Congress and people in the District 6 were no longer considered residents of Virginia or 7 Maryland. 8 (6) Many in Washington, DC, were immediately 9 opposed to the idea of being taxed without congres- 10 sional representation and over the years several con- 11 gressional leaders introduced constitutional amend- 12 ments to give the District of Columbia voting rep- 13 resentation, though none were successful. 14 (7) In 1898, Puerto Rico was acquired by the 15 United States and currently has a Resident Commis- 16 sioner with limited voting rights. Section 933 of the 17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 exempts bona fide 18 citizens who are residents of Puerto Rico for the en- 19 tire taxable year from Federal taxes on income 20 earned in Puerto Rico. 21 (8) On March 31, 1917, the United States took 22 possession of the Virgin Islands and in 1927, the 23 territory’s residents were granted citizenship. Under 24 section 932 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:53 Mar 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1295 IH individuals who are bona fide residents of the United 1 States Virgin Islands during the entire taxable year, 2 and who fully pay all income tax liabilities to the 3 United States Virgin Islands, are not subject to Fed- 4 eral income taxes on their income. 5 (9) Guam was established as a territory of the 6 United States after the passage of the Guam Or- 7 ganic Act of 1950. Under the provisions of section 8 935 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, residents 9 of Guam are required to file tax returns with Guam, 10 but not with the United States Federal Government 11 and therefore the residents do not have to pay 12 United States Federal income taxes. 13 (10) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mar- 14 iana Islands was established in 1975 after residents 15 decided not to pursue independence, but instead they 16 opted to enter into territory negotiations. The tax 17 treatment of the Northern Mariana Islands is simi- 18 lar to the structure of Guam in that bona fide resi- 19 dents are not required to pay Federal income taxes. 20 (11) American Samoa, which is technically con- 21 sidered ‘‘unorganized’’ because no Organic Acts have 22 been passed by Congress, is governed by section 931 23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Under this 24 section, bona fide year-round residents are exempt 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1295 IH from Federal taxes on income they earn in Samoa, 1 Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, but are sub- 2 ject to Federal taxes on income earned elsewhere. 3 (12) In keeping with the early history and 4 democratic traditions of the United States, the prin- 5 ciples established in the Constitution, and in con- 6 formance with the other territories of the United 7 States which have delegates but no Representative, 8 the residents of the District of Columbia should be 9 exempt from paying United States Federal income 10 taxes. 11 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR INCOME 12 FROM SOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT OF 13 COLUMBIA. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part III of sub- 15 chapter N of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 16 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 17 section: 18 ‘‘SEC. 938. INCOME FROM SOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT 19 OF COLUMBIA. 20 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of an individual 21 who is a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia 22 during the entire taxable year, gross income shall not in- 23 clude— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1295 IH ‘‘(1) income derived from sources within the 1 District of Columbia, and 2 ‘‘(2) income effectively connected with the con- 3 duct of a trade or business by such individual within 4 the District of Columbia. 5 ‘‘(b) DEDUCTIONS, ETC. ALLOCABLE TO EXCLUDED 6 AMOUNTS NOT ALLOWABLE.—An individual shall not be 7 allowed— 8 ‘‘(1) as a deduction from gross income any de- 9 ductions (other than the deduction under section 10 151, relating to personal exemptions), or 11 ‘‘(2) any credit, properly allocable or chargeable 12 against amounts excluded from gross income under 13 this section. 14 ‘‘(c) BONA FIDE RESIDENT AND OTHER APPLICA- 15 BLE RULES.—For purposes of this section, rules similar 16 to the rules of section 876, 937, 957(c), 3401(a)(8)(D), 17 and 7654 shall apply.’’. 18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 19 for subpart D of part III of subchapter N of chapter 1 20 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol- 21 lowing new item: 22 ‘‘Sec. 938. Income from sources within the District of Columbia.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1295 IH (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 1 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 2 date of the enactment of this Act. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1295.IH H1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS