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THE D.C. STATEHOOD GREEN PARTY
MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release, Friday, April 12, 2002
Contact:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
D.C. STATEHOOD GREENS URGE DISTRICT RESIDENTS AND COUNCIL TO SAY
"NO!" TO DEL. NORTON'S FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTION BILL
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The bill will attract wealthy tax dodgers to
D.C., driving up property taxes and rent, driving out District
residents.
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A major setback for the movement for D.C.
self-determination and democracy.
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Statehood Greens challenge public officials:
organize D.C. residents to win real, not 'virtual' statehood.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's bill
to exempt D.C. residents from federal taxes would have detrimental
economic consequences if passed, warned members of the D.C. Statehood
Green Party. The proposed "No Taxation Without Representation"
bill, while calling attention to D.C.'s lack of representation in
Congress, would also set back the movement for full democracy and
self-determination.
"The Act proposes a tradeoff of our dignity for money," said
David Schwartzman, chair of the party's Taxation and Finance Committee.
"It proposes giving us exemption from federal income taxes if
voting representation is not granted by Congress. We should not trade
our political human rights for monetary compensation."
"Because the federal income tax structure is more progressive than
that of the District, Ms. Norton's bill will primarily benefit wealthy
residents," Schwartzman added. "Moreover, if such exemption
were granted it could well be a critical argument used to deny the
District federal help, including its fair and obligated federal
payment."
Statehood Greens remind D.C. voters that when Americans in the 13
colonies protested taxation without representation imposed by the
British crown, the solution they sought was independence and democracy,
not a tax break or seats in Parliament.
Furthermore, in challenging Congress to make a choice between federal
taxes from D.C. residents or granting representation, Ms. Norton brushes
aside the real challenge: the lack of democracy and political autonomy
in the District. Representation per se does not provide democracy;
history is full of examples of subjugated and exploited people who
enjoyed representation in legislatures, such as colonial Algeria, which
held seats in the French Assembly.
Schwartzman observes that Del. Norton's bill, which is co-sponsored by
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Dem., CT), would divert public support for a full
and fair court hearing of the '20 Citizens' lawsuit (Adams v. Bush),
which seeks constitutional rights for D.C. residents, including full
political self-determination. "We demand full statehood, not
'virtual' statehood." (Since the 20 Citizens lawsuit was
dismissed without comment by the U.S. Supreme Court, its grievances can
still be pursued legally.)
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
Michael Piacsek, chair of the party's Statehood Committee, testified at
a hearing on Monday, April 8 along with Schwartzman and two other party
members, T.E. Smith and Jay Marx, in opposition to Del. Norton's bill
and against D.C. Council supporting legislation introduced by Ward 4's
Adrian Fenty. Piacsek emphasized the economic risk of the
bill:
"The fact is, this bill creates a tax haven in D.C. This city
has no business endorsing a bill that will push hundreds of thousands of
poor and middle class residents from their homes to make way for tax
dodgers. The speed with which lifelong D.C. residents are displaced
would be staggering as property values skyrocket."
Skyrocketing property taxes would also result in skyrocketing rents,
note party members. So far, neither Del. Norton nor any D.C. City
Council member has addressed any of these risks in the proposed
bill.
T.E. Smith, a longtime statehood activist and veteran, expressed
frustration with elected officeholders in D.C.: "We're the
taxpayers and citizens. If they're really interested in statehood,
public officials should use their offices to organize D.C. citizens to
protest, to raise hell, to organize D.C. veterans, and to use our
resources to win statehood. Instead, their time and resources are
misdirected towards bills [like Ms. Norton's] that attempt to buy us
off. Why not organize a peaceful daily protest at Capitol
Hill?"
Members of the Statehood Green Party warn that the April 15 Tax
Day rally organized by D.C. Vote may be turned into a plug for Del.
Norton's bill.
"In 1980, we approved a statehood initiative with 60% of the vote,
and recent polls show that a similar or larger percentage continue to
favor statehood," said Michael Piacsek. "Norton's bill ignores
the will of the people to form a new state by allowing an escape hatch
for Congress by providing for tax exemption for D.C.
residents."
MORE INFORMATION
The D.C. Statehood Green Party
http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
1314 18th Street, NW, lower level, Washington, DC
20036, 202-296-1301
'20 Citizens' DC democracy lawsuit (Adams v. Bush,
George S. LaRoche, Attorney)
http://www.dccitizensfordemocracy.org
Press release from Del. Norton's office announcing the
"No Taxation Without Representation Act," March 22,
2001 http://www.house.gov/norton/20010322a.htm
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