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106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 280
To prohibit United States voluntary and assessed contributions to the United
Nations if the United Nations imposes any tax or fee on United States
persons or continues to develop or promote proposals for such taxes
or fees.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. SWEENEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
A BILL
To prohibit United States voluntary and assessed contribu-
tions to the United Nations if the United Nations im-
poses any tax or fee on United States persons or contin-
ues to develop or promote proposals for such taxes or
fees.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prohibition on United
Nations Taxation Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
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(1) in 1948, the average United States family
with children paid only 3 percent of its income in
Federal taxes;
(2) in 1996, the average United States family
with children paid almost 24 percent of its income
in Federal taxes;
(3) United Nations officials have made numer-
ous and repeated proposals to provide financing for
the United Nations outside the scrutiny of Member
States of the United Nations, including borrowing
from international financial institutions, assuming
control of bonds issued by Member States, and im-
posing taxes on an extensive range of transactions,
goods, and services;
(4) the 1994 ‘‘Human Development Report’’ of
the United Nations Development Program stated
that ‘‘[i]t is appropriate that the proceeds of an
international tax be devoted to international pur-
poses and be placed at the disposal of international
institutions.’’;
(5) on January 14, 1996, United Nations Gen-
eral Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghali stated that an
international tax would mean that ‘‘[he would] not
be under the daily financial will of the Member
States.’’;
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(6) American taxpayers have paid approxi-
mately $30,000,000,000 to the United Nations since
1945;
(7) the United Nations and its organizations
are replete with mismanagement, waste, corruption,
and inefficiency which cost American taxpayers mil-
lions of dollars each year;
(8) the power to tax is an attribute of sov-
ereignty;
(9) the United Nations does not have the at-
tributes of sovereignty and is not a sovereign power;
and
(10) the United Nations has no legal authority
to impose taxes on United States citizens.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF GLOBAL TAX-
ATION OR MULTILATERAL BANK BORROW-
ING.
The United States may not pay any voluntary or as-
sessed contribution to the United Nations or any of its
specialized or affiliated agencies if the United Nations—
(1) attempts to implement or impose any tax-
ation or fee on any United States persons; or
(2) attempts to borrow funds from the Inter-
national Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(commonly referred to as the ‘‘World Bank’’), the
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International Monetary Fund, or any other similar
or regional international financial institution.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND
PROMOTION OF GLOBAL TAXATION PROPOS-
ALS.
The United States may not pay any voluntary or as-
sessed contribution to the United Nations or any of its
specialized or affiliated agencies (including the United Na-
tions Development Program) unless the President certifies
in writing to the Congress 15 days in advance of such pay-
ment that the United Nations or such agency, as the case
may be, is not engaged in any effort to develop, advocate,
promote, or publicize any proposal concerning taxation or
fees on United States persons in order to raise revenue
for the United Nations or any such agency.
SEC. 5. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Payments prohibited under this Act include disburse-
ments to the United Nations pursuant to any undertaking
made by the United States before the prohibition becomes
effective.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘person’’ has the meaning given
such term in section 7701(a)(1) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 7701(a)(1)).
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(2) The term ‘‘taxation or fees on United
States persons’’ includes any tax or fee assessed on
United States persons on a per capita basis or on
a transaction or user basis, including but not limited
to any tax or fee on international air travel, foreign
exchange transactions, the mails, or extraction or
use of natural resources.
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