D.C. voting: What Puerto Rico has

By Kent Jeffreys
Washington

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s commentary on the fight for D.C. voting rights accurately reviewed past efforts to achieve equal representation for D.C. residents. Unfortunately, she offered no realistic alternative to repeating past failures.

A better strategy can be found on D.C.’s license plates: “Taxation Without Representation.” Unlike Puerto Rico — where residents also have a nonvoting delegate to Congress but are exempt from federal income taxes — D.C. citizens have the worst of both worlds. A similar exemption from federal income taxes for D.C. residents, in addition to directly benefiting our residents, would attract an influx of high-income taxpayers from around the country, who would then provide the District with higher “state” income tax revenue. And unlike statehood or House voting rights, this approach is supported by some of the most conservative members of Congress, who have co-sponsored a bill by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) to achieve this.

Norton should work to pass this bill, H.R.1014. If we can’t be equal to Virginia or Maryland, perhaps we can be equal to Puerto Rico.