Talk:Insular area

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Intro paragraph copied from govt page at bottom - which is written in legalese/government-speek. It makes not a whole lot of sense in English. -Abqwildcat 23:35, 16 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Neither does quotient rule to those unfamiliar with the language of math. Just because it's complicated and hard to understand doesn't mean it's wrong or faulty. jengod 00:21, Jul 17, 2004 (UTC)

I don't mean to suggest it's just beyond my ability, it's also badly written. My opinion is that it needs to be re-written in a way to make it read like an encyclopedia article. --Abqwildcat 00:55, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

What exactly is it that you find badly written or difficult to understand? It seems quite clear to me. Hard for me to know how to improve it if you don't give a better indication of the problem. older≠wiser 21:17, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC) Never mind--I just realized that I was looking at a version that had already been revised somewhat. older≠wiser 21:23, 17 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Contents 1 Definition 2 Merge with incorporated territory? 3 Taxation 4 Name

[edit] Definition

I am not an american, and therefore cannot understand what this article refers to.

The first statement of the article is: "An insular area of the United States is a jurisdiction that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district."

Does that mean that the USA regards virtually all of the rest of the world as a so-called "insular area" ?

Um, no. Insular areas are U.S territory, but are not part of the 50 states or D.C. older≠wiser 22:27, August 3, 2005 (UTC)

Simply put, an Insular Area is a land that is formally part of the United States, yet remains unorganized into a federal territory (i.e. The District of Columbia) or state (i.e. Alaska). Traditionally, much of the United States did not belong to any one state, but was classified as a federal territory (much like the Northwest Territory of 1789).--TheRealZajac 23:54, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

the easiest way to understand the insular areas: "They are a possession (sovereignty under US) but are not part of the US ".--Royptorico 20:14, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Merge with incorporated territory?

Regarding the proposal to merge with incorporated territory, I am overall (but just slightly) opposed to the idea. The terms mean different things. Although today the concept is largely irrelevant (as the only incorporated territory is uninhabited), separate articles may be useful in historic contexts -- or (you never know) a current territory could be reclassified, and an separate article about incorporation may be quite useful.

Most of the overlap seems to be the lists on each page. I am not opposed to some merging/purging of the lists. — Eoghanacht ^talk 19:25, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

I think merger would be a really bad idea (other than some of the list content, perhaps) and there seems to be no consensus to merge, so I'm removing the note — OwenBlacker 00:04, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Taxation

It the first paragraph, it states that insular residents do not pay federal taxes. I am pretty sure that Virgin Islanders do, and perhaps those in other territories. I know Puerto Ricans don't, and perhaps Northern Mariana Islanders don't either. In any case, this sentence needs some facts checking. — Eoghanacht ^talk 19:31, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

I think it may be more complicated. Technically, USVI residents pay taxes at the same rates (and even using the same forms) as with the IRS, but pay the taxes to the USVI tax authority. [1] Some sort of mirroring argreement. There are similar taxing authorities for American Samoa, The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico, although the precise exemptions and filing obligations vary. It also depends whether you are considered a "bona fide" resident. I.e., a citizen from the mainland who earns income in a territory may have to file separate returns for the IRS and the island's taxing authority. Another factor is the source of the income. [2] older≠wiser 01:13, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

The bit about "nationals" in this same section is also incorrect. Residents of all the territories are U.S. citizens except American Samoans, who are U.S. nationals. Actually, technically, all U.S. citizens from everywhere (including the US proper) are U.S. nationals, but not all nationals are citizens; the difference is that citizens can vote and run for office but nationals can't. The fact that they can't vote for Congress or for presidential electors is because their jurisdictions don't elect those officers, not because of their citizenship status or their tax status (residents of DC can tell you that there is no link between taxation and representation). I'm going to try to sort it out. --Jfruh (talk) 23:25, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Name

Why is this article not named "Insular areas of the United States"? Isn't the term "insular area" rather generic on its own? Bhumiya/Talk 04:54, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

I agree with that statement as to the context of this article. I'm not sure about how "generic" the term is. My question is "do other countries and entities use this term?" For now, though, please see Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. states for more information on this topic as it applies to the USA. • CQ 17:44, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

No google results for Insular Area as a possession of any country other than the U.S. Jerry lavoie 07:49, 4 February 2007 (UTC)