Gohmert Introduces “No Taxation Without Representation Act”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler has unveiled his “No Taxation Without Representation Act.” According to a news release, the measure would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to insure that there is no taxation without representation — and to make tax law regarding residents of the District of Columbia consistent with tax law affecting territories of the United States that also do not have a voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Gohmert released the following statement regarding the proposal:

“The license plate motto ‘taxation without representation’ raised eyebrows when I first saw it, but then I recalled the revolutionary slogan – ‘taxation without representation‎ is tyranny.’ The Washington D.C. residents were paying income tax without having a federal representative with full voting rights.

“Regardless of who agrees or disagrees now, in the late 1970s people both for and against Washington, D.C., having its own U.S. representative all agreed that it would take a Constitutional amendment to change the statement in the Constitution that the representatives would come from the ‘states.’ That Constitutional amendment passed both the House and Senate back then but failed to ever get the requisite state ratification.

“After looking at the situation of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, or Samoa, I found that the residents there paid local taxes, but none paid federal income tax. It occurred to me after researching the situation still further that until when or if the citizens of Washington, D.C., have a full voting representative, they should not have to pay any federal income tax. So I have filed that bill again today hoping that this Congress will do the right thing by the citizens of the District of Columbia and end the federal income tax. It is the fair, just and right thing to do.”