I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4958 

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 

OCTOBER 31, 2019 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Taxation Without 

5 Representation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The phrase ‘‘no taxation without represen2 tation’’ was a rallying cry of many American colo3 nists during the period of British rule in the 1760s 

4 and early 1770s. The slogan gained widespread no5 toriety after the passage of the Sugar Act on April 

6 5, 1764. 

7 (2) American colonists increasingly resented 

8 having taxes levied upon them without having any 

9 legislators they elected who were voting in Par10 liament in London. The idea that there should be no 

11 taxation without representation dated back even fur12 ther. Benjamin Franklin stated, ‘‘it is suppos’d an 

13 undoubted Right of Englishmen not to be taxed but 

14 by their own Consent given thro’ their Representa15 tives.’’. 

16 (3) This issue became even more defined in 

17 1765 with the passage of the Stamp Act which was 

18 the first true attempt to levy a direct tax on the 

19 American colonies. Ultimately the tax was repealed, 

20 but the idea of no taxation without representation 

21 persisted. 

22 (4) Article I, section 2, clause 1 of the United 

23 States Constitution, states, ‘‘The House of Rep24 resentatives shall be composed of Members chosen 

25 every second Year by the People of the SEVERAL 


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1 STATES, and the Electors in each State shall have 

2 the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most 

3 numerous Branch of the State Legislature.’’. 

4 (5) The Organic Act of 1801 placed Wash5 ington, DC, under the exclusive jurisdiction of the 

6 United States Congress and people in the District 

7 were no longer considered residents of Virginia or 

8 Maryland. 

9 (6) Many in Washington, DC, were immediately 

10 opposed to the idea of being taxed without congres11 sional representation and over the years several con12 gressional leaders introduced constitutional amend13 ments to give the District of Columbia voting rep14 resentation, though none were successful. 

15 (7) In 1898, Puerto Rico was acquired by the 

16 United States and currently has a Resident Commis17 sioner with limited voting rights. Section 933 of the 

18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 exempts bona fide 

19 citizens who are residents of Puerto Rico for the en20 tire taxable year from Federal taxes on income 

21 earned in Puerto Rico. 

22 (8) On March 31, 1917, the United States took 

23 possession of the Virgin Islands and in 1927, the 

24 territory’s residents were granted citizenship. Under 

25 section 932 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 


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1 individuals who are bona fide residents of the United 

2 States Virgin Islands during the entire taxable year, 

3 and who fully pay all income tax liabilities to the 

4 United States Virgin Islands, are not subject to Fed5 eral income taxes on their income. 

6 (9) Guam was established as a territory of the 

7 United States after the passage of the Guam Or8 ganic Act of 1950. Under the provisions of section 

9 935 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, residents 

10 of Guam are required to file tax returns with Guam, 

11 but not with the United States Federal Government 

12 and therefore the residents do not have to pay 

13 United States Federal income taxes. 

14 (10) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mar15 iana Islands was established in 1975 after residents 

16 decided not to pursue independence, but instead they 

17 opted to enter into territory negotiations. The tax 

18 treatment of the Northern Mariana Islands is simi19 lar to the structure of Guam in that bona fide resi20 dents are not required to pay Federal income taxes. 

21 (11) American Samoa, which is technically con22 sidered ‘‘unorganized’’ because no Organic Acts have 

23 been passed by Congress, is governed by section 931 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Under this 

25 section, bona fide year-round residents are exempt 


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1 from Federal taxes on income they earn in Samoa, 

2 Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, but are sub3 ject to Federal taxes on income earned elsewhere. 

4 (12) In keeping with the early history and 

5 democratic traditions of the United States, the prin6 ciples established in the Constitution, and in con7 formance with the other territories of the United 

8 States which have delegates but no Representative, 

9 the residents of the District of Columbia should be 

10 exempt from paying United States Federal income 

11 taxes. 

12 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR INCOME 

13 FROM SOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT OF 

14 COLUMBIA. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part III of sub16 chapter N of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

18 section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 938. INCOME FROM SOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT 

20 OF COLUMBIA. 

21 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of an individual 

22 who is a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia 

23 during the entire taxable year, gross income shall not in24 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(1) income derived from sources within the 

2 District of Columbia, and 

3 ‘‘(2) income effectively connected with the con4 duct of a trade or business by such individual within 

5 the District of Columbia. 

6 ‘‘(b) DEDUCTIONS, ETC. ALLOCABLE TO EXCLUDED

7 AMOUNTS NOT ALLOWABLE.—An individual shall not be 

8 allowed— 

9 ‘‘(1) as a deduction from gross income any de10 ductions (other than the deduction under section 

11 151, relating to personal exemptions), or 

12 ‘‘(2) any credit, properly allocable or chargeable 

13 against amounts excluded from gross income under 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(c) BONA FIDE RESIDENT AND OTHER APPLICA16 BLE RULES.—For purposes of this section, rules similar 

17 to the rules of section 876, 937, 957(c), 3401(a)(8)(D), 

18 and 7654 shall apply.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 for subpart D of part III of subchapter N of chapter 1 

21 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 938. Income from sources within the District of Columbia.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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