Fred Vinson – The Isaac Brock Society

Below I present the May & June 1968 correspondence of Durward G. Hall (R-MS) with Kentucky Democrat Fred Vinson of the Department of Justice on the treatment of certain emigrants. It was first published at page 22149 of the Congressional Record for 18 July 1968, just days short of the 100th anniversary of President Andrew Johnson’s signing of the Expatriation Act of 1868.

In 1868, men stood on the floor of the House and quoted philosophers from the Roman Republic, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands in support of the proposition that emigration and change of citizenship are basic human rights. In 1968, men stood on that same floor and spluttered that Americans who emigrated and changed their citizenship were traitors who should never be allowed to return for a visit.

I’m posting this a bit late for the Act’s 145th anniversary, but I suppose if I had posted it on time it would have just ruined the mood. Instead I hope that it was a happy day that we all celebrated properly even without knowing the significance of the date: by continuing to exercise our right to live contentedly in the lands of our choosing, regardless of what people in the United States might have to say.

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Even more hilariously hypocritical than the 1974 Jackson–Vanik Amendment — which slaps trade sanctions on countries imposing unreasonable barriers to emigration of their citizens — I bring you 26 USC § 891: “Doubling of rates of tax on citizens and corporations of certain foreign countries”, a law originally passed in 1934 and still in effect today:

Whenever the President finds that, under the laws of any foreign country, citizens or corporations of the United States are being subjected to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes, the President shall so proclaim and the rates of tax imposed by sections 1, 3, 11, 801, 831, 852, 871, and 881 shall, for the taxable year during which such proclamation is made and for each taxable year thereafter, be doubled in the case of each citizen and corporation of such foreign country; but the tax at such doubled rate shall be considered as imposed by such sections as the case may be. In no case shall this section operate to increase the taxes imposed by such sections (computed without regard to this section) to an amount in excess of 80 percent of the taxable income of the taxpayer (computed without regard to the deductions allowable under section 151 and under part VIII of subchapter B).

I’d love to see Homelanders get their taxes doubled every year until they stop spouting their ridiculous ultra-nationalist justifications for taxing those of us who don’t live in their damn country and imposing discriminatory burdens on our ability to save for retirement. Sadly, § 891 only applies to “foreign” countries.

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The Isaac Brock Society

Tag Archives: Fred Vinson

A congressional speech on the centennial of the Expatriation Act of 1868

Internal Revenue Code severely punishes countries which impose extraterritorial taxation