# Is "taxation without representation" a thing in the United States? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319 "2024-09-15T21:47:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/1 "2024-09-15T21:47:06Z")
Continuing the discussion from [How oppressive were the British taxes on the American colonies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-oppressive-were-the-british-taxes-on-the-american-colonies/1007302/8): > [@How oppressive were the British taxes on the American colonies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-oppressive-were-the-british-taxes-on-the-american-colonies/1007302/8): > > So you’re saying taxation without representation is a standard feature of American society? > 🤔 Rather than hijacking the FQ thread above I figured to move it. To the question, people under 18 and felons leap to mind. Anyone else taxed without representation? Is it against the law in the US anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/2 "2024-09-15T22:06:30Z")
Some people are saying that tariffs are a tax on the American consumer. I don’t recall congress passing a bill on tariffs. This any tariff, not just the one most people are thinking about. So lets not get into the politics please. But I believe the POTUS can declare one without a congressional act. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/3 "2024-09-15T22:07:49Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I don’t recall congress passing a bill on tariffs. Acts of Congress not being well publicized doesn’t mean that they’re done without representation. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/4 "2024-09-15T22:10:29Z")
I believe the POTUS can declare a tariff under an executive order. Part of his abilty to negotiate treaties. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/5 "2024-09-15T22:10:52Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Anyone else taxed without representation? All of the residents of Washington, D.C. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/6 "2024-09-15T22:10:58Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > To the question, people under 18 and felons leap to mind. Anyone else taxed without representation? Washington, DC. It’s on our license plates. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/7 "2024-09-15T22:14:59Z")
The President can negotiate treaties, but they still need to be ratified by Congress. And imposing a tariff isn’t a treaty, anyway: If it were, no country would ever agree to one. > [@Misnomer](#): > > All of the residents of Washington, D.C. They all claim it, yes. Doesn’t make it true. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/8 "2024-09-15T22:19:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Doesn’t make it true. They’re taxed without representation. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/9 "2024-09-15T22:27:45Z")
Residents of Guam, DC, American Samoa, and and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have delegates in the US House of Representatives that can only vote at the committee level. Residents of those areas pay some federal taxes, but not Federal income tax. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/10 "2024-09-15T22:28:40Z")
What about Puerto Rico? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/11 "2024-09-15T22:31:27Z")
Same situation with PR as far as I can tell with respect to taxes. PR is different than the others in that they have a resident commissioner in the House, instead of a delegate like the others. What difference that makes, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/12 "2024-09-15T22:34:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They all claim it, yes. Doesn’t make it true. It’s literally true. DC citizens have no elected voting representation in Congress, neither in the House nor the Senate, but (unlike residents of PR and other US territories) they are subject to the federal income tax. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/13 "2024-09-15T22:38:07Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Residents of those areas pay some federal taxes, but not Federal income tax. I paid federal income tax as a Washingtonian. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/14 "2024-09-15T22:38:51Z")
You’re wrong about DC, residents of DC definitely pay the Federal income tax. If they didn’t, every rich American would move to DC. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/15 "2024-09-15T22:39:01Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I paid federal income tax as a Washingtonian. That’s the point. You paid taxes but have no representative in congress. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/16 "2024-09-15T22:39:04Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It’s literally true. DC citizens have no elected voting representation in Congress, neither in the House nor the Senate, but (unlike residents of PR and other US territories) they are subject to the federal income tax. The difference being that they vote for the President so there is representation in one branch of the government. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/17 "2024-09-15T22:40:28Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > That’s the point. You paid taxes but have no representative in congress. I was responding to the claim made that DC residents don’t pay federal income tax. It was in the part of the post I quoted. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/18 "2024-09-15T22:43:55Z")
That’s true, but DC residents still have no representation for Congress, which has authority over DC local administration (they can and sometimes do overrule the DC elected local government). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/19 "2024-09-15T22:49:34Z")
Famously, in the 90s, DC had a referendum in legalizing medical marijuana and Congress refused to allow us to count the votes. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319/20 "2024-09-15T23:20:59Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > That’s true, but DC residents still have no representation for Congress But still more governmental representation than all of the other non-states that can’t even vote for the President. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-taxation-without-representation-a-thing-in-the-united-states/1007319.md?page=2)