I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3731 

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 

DECEMBER 19, 2011 

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 being levied taxes without having actual legislators 

9 seated and voting in Parliament in London. The 

10 idea that there should be no taxation without rep11 resentation dated back even further. Benjamin 

12 Franklin stated, ‘‘it is suppos’d an undoubted Right 

13 of Englishmen not to be taxed but by their own Con14 sent given thro’ their Representatives.’’. 

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 Ultimately the tax was repealed, 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 Rep23 resentatives shall be composed of Members chosen 

24 every second Year by the People of the several 

25 States, and the Electors in each State shall have the 


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1 Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most nu2 merous Branch of the State Legislature.’’. 

3 (5) The Organic Act of 1801 placed Wash4 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 congres10 sional representation and over the years several con11 gressional leaders introduced constitutional amend12 ments to give the District of Columbia voting rep13 resentation, though none were successful. 

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

15 United States and currently has a Resident Commis16 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 en19 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 individuals who are bona fide residents of the United 


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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 Fed4 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 Or7 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 Mar14 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 simi18 lar to the structure of Guam in that bona fide resi19 dents are not required to pay Federal income taxes. 

20 (11) American Samoa, which is technically con21 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 from Federal taxes on income they earn in Samoa, 


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1 Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, but are sub2 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 prin5 ciples established in the Constitution, and in con6 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 sub15 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 in23 clude— 

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

25 District of Columbia, and 


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1 ‘‘(2) income effectively connected with the con2 duct of a trade or business by such individual within 

3 the District of Columbia. 

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

5 AMOUNTS NOT ALLOWABLE.—An individual shall not be 

6 allowed— 

7 ‘‘(1) as a deduction from gross income any de8 ductions (other than the deduction under section 

9 151, relating to personal exemptions), or 

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

11 against amounts excluded from gross income under 

12 this section. 

13 ‘‘(c) BONA FIDE RESIDENT AND OTHER APPLICA14 BLE RULES.—For purposes of this section, rules similar 

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

16 and 7654 shall apply.’’. 

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

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

19 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing new item: 

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

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

22 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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