[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1206 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1206

 To prohibit United States voluntary and assessed contributions to the 
    United Nations or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
  Development if the United Nations or the Organization for Economic 
  Cooperation and Development imposes any tax or fee on United States 
 persons, continues to develop or promote proposals for such taxes or 
  fees, or attempts to implement or impose a policy that would enable 
  foreign governments to tax income earned inside the borders of the 
                             United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2003

 Mr. Sweeney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit United States voluntary and assessed contributions to the 
    United Nations or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
  Development if the United Nations or the Organization for Economic 
  Cooperation and Development imposes any tax or fee on United States 
 persons, continues to develop or promote proposals for such taxes or 
  fees, or attempts to implement or impose a policy that would enable 
  foreign governments to tax income earned inside the borders of the 
                             United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Prohibition on United Nations 
Taxation Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) in 1948, the average United States family with children 
        paid only 3 percent of its income in Federal taxes;
            (2) in 1996, the average United States family with children 
        paid almost 24 percent of its income in Federal taxes;
            (3) United Nations officials have made numerous and 
        repeated proposals to provide financing for the United Nations 
        outside the scrutiny of Member States of the United Nations, 
        including borrowing from international financial institutions, 
        assuming control of bonds issued by Member States, and imposing 
        taxes on an extensive range of transactions, goods, and 
        services;
            (4) the 1994 ``Human Development Report'' of the United 
        Nations Development Program stated that ``[i]t is appropriate 
        that the proceeds of an international tax be devoted to 
        international purposes and be placed at the disposal of 
        international institutions.'';
            (5) on January 14, 1996, United Nations Secretary General 
        Boutros Boutros-Ghali stated that an international tax would 
        mean that ``[he would] not be under the daily financial will of 
        the Member States.'';
            (6) American taxpayers have paid approximately 
        $30,000,000,000 to the United Nations since 1945;
            (7) the United Nations and its organizations are replete 
        with mismanagement, waste, corruption, and inefficiency which 
        cost American taxpayers millions of dollars each year;
            (8) the power to tax is an attribute of sovereignty;
            (9) the United Nations does not have the attributes of 
        sovereignty and is not a sovereign power;
            (10) the United Nations has no legal authority to impose 
        taxes on United States citizens;
            (11) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
        Development is seeking to hinder tax competition between 
        nations;
            (12) the United States has a relatively low tax burden 
        compared to other developed nations and any effort to hinder 
        tax competition will undermine the competitive advantage of the 
        United States;
            (13) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
        Development is pursuing tax harmonization policies that would 
        enable foreign governments to tax income earned in the United 
        States;
            (14) the power to determine the tax treatment of income 
        inside national borders is an attribute of sovereignty; and
            (15) the United States finances approximately one-fourth of 
        the budget of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
        Development.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF GLOBAL TAXATION, MULTILATERAL BANK 
              BORROWING, OR TAX HARMONIZATION.

    No funds shall be obligated or otherwise expended from the United 
States Treasury for any purpose to the United Nations or any of its 
specialized or affiliated agencies if the United Nations or any of its 
specialized or affiliated agencies--
            (1) attempts to implement or impose any taxation or fee on 
        any United States persons;
            (2) attempts to implement or impose a policy that would 
        enable foreign governments to tax income earned inside the 
        borders of the United States; or
            (3) attempts to borrow funds from the International Bank 
        for Reconstruction and Development (commonly referred to as the 
``World Bank''), the International Monetary Fund, or any other similar 
or regional international financial institution.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF GLOBAL 
              TAXATION OR TAX HARMONIZATION PROPOSALS.

    No funds shall be obligated or otherwise expended from the United 
States Treasury for any purpose to the United Nations or any of its 
specialized or affiliated agencies (including the United Nations 
Development Program) unless the President certifies in writing to the 
Congress 15 days in advance of such payment that the United Nations or 
such agency, as the case may be, is not engaged in any effort to--
            (1) develop, advocate, promote, or publicize any proposal 
        concerning taxation or fees on United States persons in order 
        to raise revenue for the United Nations or any such agency; or
            (2) to develop, advocate, promote, or publicize any 
        proposal concerning foreign government taxation or fees on 
        United States-source income.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF GLOBAL TAXATION, MULTILATERAL BANK 
              BORROWING, OR TAX HARMONIZATION.

    No funds shall be obligated or otherwise expended from the United 
States Treasury for any purpose to the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development or any of its specialized or affiliated 
agencies if the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development--
            (1) attempts to implement or impose any taxation or fee on 
        any United States persons;
            (2) attempts to implement or impose a policy that would 
        enable foreign governments to tax income earned inside the 
        borders of the United States; or
            (3) attempts to borrow funds from the International Bank 
        for Reconstruction and Development (commonly referred to as the 
        ``World Bank''), the International Monetary Fund, or any other 
        similar or regional international financial institution.

SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND PROMOTION OF GLOBAL 
              TAXATION OR TAX HARMONIZATION PROPOSALS.

    No funds shall be obligated or otherwise expended from the United 
States Treasury for any purpose to the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development or any of its specialized or affiliated 
agencies unless the President certifies in writing to the Congress 15 
days in advance of such payment that the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development or such agency, as the case may be, is not 
engaged in any effort to--
            (1) develop, advocate, promote, or publicize any proposal 
        concerning taxation or fees on United States persons in order 
        to raise revenue for the Organization for Economic Cooperation 
        and Development or any such agency; or
            (2) develop, advocate, promote, or publicize any proposal 
        concerning foreign government taxation or fees on United 
        States-source income.

SEC. 7. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

    Payments prohibited under this Act include disbursements to the 
United Nations or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
pursuant to any undertaking made by the United States before the 
prohibition becomes effective.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``person'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 7701(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 
        U.S.C. 7701(a)(1)).
            (2) The term ``taxation or fees on United States persons'' 
        includes any tax or fee assessed on United States persons on a 
        per capita basis or on a transaction or user basis, including 
        but not limited to any tax or fee on international air travel, 
        foreign exchange transactions, the mails, or extraction or use 
        of natural resources.
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