A Republican representative from Texas said he is introducing a bill to exempt D.C. residents from paying taxes, Mary Beth Sheridan reported on the Washington Post's D.C. Wire. I vote for that.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, a vocal opponent of the D.C. House Voting Rights Act, told the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties about the bill at Tuesday's voting rights hearing, saying the "Taxation Without Representation" slogan has made an impression on him.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton dismissed the stunt, which she tried several years ago.
Pipe dream though it may be, I'm completely behind Gohmert's joke bill. Can't remember the last time a House vote affected my daily life in any tangible way, unless it had to do with my taxes, and I don't see how adding one Democratic vote and one Republican vote will change anything. Selfish as it may seem, I vote my wallet.
The thought of not having to pay federal taxes -- I promise I'd never say or even think "commuter tax" ever again -- warms me like a Powerball daydream. The fantasy is fleeting, but it's a nice little retreat nonetheless.
