Republican Congressman Proposes No Taxation for D.C.

Our license plates have long complained of "Taxation Without Representation." Now, one Republican congressman says he'd like to change that slogan to "No Taxation, No Representation."

According to The Hill, freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL) -- who said that "you don't see anyone suffering [in D.C.] during a Meet the Press roundtable last November -- has floated the idea of exempting District residents as something of a quick-fix for the city, which for over 200 years has been denied the democratic rights enjoyed by all Americans.

"I have seen the license plates that say there should be no taxation without representation. I have to do more research on the issue. The District of Columbia was designed to be the home base of the federal government so I would have to see what the Constitution says. If you live in the District, perhaps an exclusionary zone should be set up where District residents do not pay federal taxes," West said.

The idea isn't exactly new, having been proposed in the past by everyone from local voting rights activists to one of the District's biggest foes, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). There's some obvious pros, but also some distinct cons that would need to be considered.

Scrapping federal taxes would be a huge plus for many District residents, who would suddenly have a good deal more cash to invest in businesses, homes and their families. Of course, any such exemption would make the city a huge draw for just about anyone willing to skip out on paying their share to the feds -- most likely the very, very rich. If we think that the District has charged dramatically over the last decade with a relatively stable influx of new residents, how would it change over the next decade when every new resident was promised a break on their federal taxes? (And that's just speaking demographics. Imagine the change in our local politics, as libertarians and Tea Party-types began flooding into our fair city.)

One benefit of the proposal would be the national attention it would draw to the District's plight. If 600,000 Americans were suddenly given the chance to opt out of federal taxes for little else than a historic injustice based on events that took place over two centuries ago, plenty of people across the U.S. would probably echo what we've been saying for so long -- give D.C. voting rights and self-determination already.

Ultimately, exempting us from federal taxation is the lazy way to address the District's second-class status. But with a history worth of failed attempts to change things, is lazy the best we might have to hope for?

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http://dcist.com/2011/02/republican_congressman_proposes_no. php

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