Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
Posted on 03/05/2006 12:15:18 PM PST by bkwells
MEXICO CITY – Mexican officials are complaining that a bill in Georgia's state legislature to tax the hundreds of millions of dollars that illegal immigrants wire home would unfairly hurt Mexicans working north of the border.
Sponsored by Republican lawmakers who charge that illegal immigrants use basic health and education services without contributing to them, the bill would force anyone unable to prove their legal status to pay tax on their wire transfers.
Mexicans living in the United States sent home about $20 billion to their families last year, more than all the foreign direct investment in the country and a major pillar of Mexico's economy, especially in poor areas.
Similar to a bill in Arizona's legislature, the Georgia measure has passed the state's lower house and is awaiting review in its Senate.
“The recently approved initiative . . . is unjust because it discriminates against people of Hispanic origin in general and Mexicans in particular,” Mexico's Foreign Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry said it also was following the Arizona bill's progress and could take legal action should either proposal become law.
Finance Minister Francisco Gil slammed the bills last week, and a migrant representative said it was a foolhardy attack on workers he said were helping the economies of both countries.
“Unfortunately, this is a trend,” said Candido Morales, director of an institute for Mexicans living abroad. “Making life difficult for people who aren't legal, but who contribute to both the U.S. and Mexican economies.
While Georgia's bill would only tax illegal immigrants, Arizona's would tax all wire transfers out of the country.
Critics say that the laws would be ineffective, and that migrants would simply ship money home by less secure means.
Supporters of the bills in Georgia and Arizona argue that something must be done to salvage revenue from hundreds of millions of dollars they say slip out of their states untaxed.
“The reality is that a tremendous amount of undocumented illegal immigrants are in this country earing money and not paying any taxes,” said Rep. Calvin Hill, a Georgia Republican who sponsored his state's bill.
“They are utilizing the vast resources of the state but not financially contributing in any way,” said Hill, who estimated $1 billion was leaving the state every year in untaxed remittances from illegal immigrants alone.
Arizona officials said the money could beef up security along its border with Mexico. Hill said it would go into Georgia's indigent health care and education which illegal immigrants often use themselves.
“Now for the first time these people will have an opportunity to partially pay for these services,” Hill said. “This has nothing to do with being against immigrants.”
The Mexican-born population living in the United States is 9.9 million, according to figured cited by the Mexican Embassy in Washington.
The people whose illegal activities we are trying to stop are engaging in that illegal activity precisely because they are unable to produce the documents that allow them to open that simplest of money transfer devices - a bank account.
The money transfer services we are talking about exist almost solely to facilitate activity by illegal aliens...of all nations.
nope. wrong on all counts.
I am not advocating making them "taxpayers" - a term implying licit payers of federal and state income tax. I am advocating imposing a punitive tax on people who are not legal citizens when they choose to purchase a specific service. In a way, this is a targeted sales tax from which legal residents are exempt. Nice strawman attempt you made, though.
And, no, non sequitur: I do not and shall not advocate issuing a driver's license to illegals.
do you have any other rhetorical illogic gambits to try?
“Unfortunately, this is a trend,” said Candido Morales, director of an institute for Mexicans living abroad. “Making life difficult for people who aren't legal, but who contribute to both the U.S. and Mexican economies.
#$%# them, and #%$^ you.
Clean up your own country, and they won't need to come here.
Have Mexicans, in particular the government, no shame?
You still haven't told me how yuou plan to ID illegal aliens from legal residents.
What's the plan Jethro?
Mexico can go pound salt.
They are a parasite to this nation and all the Legal people here.
Wire transfers have been going on for as long as the technology has been available.
People wire money to their kids in college, to their family when needed, in the course of doing business overseas.
Even if you pass that law, how will it be enforced?
Who will come by the Western Union office and audit their transfers?
If you pass a law you must be ale to enforce it.
What's going to happen is that all wire transfers will be taxed, and people, illegal aliens as well as legitimate businesses and private citizens, will simply use other means to transfer monies overseas...then the government will tax those means as well.
There are two things we know beyond the shadow of a doubt about politicians:
This is not about illegal immigrants, this is about using illegal immigrants to raise tax revenues.
We never learn.
By the way..no one needs a bank account to buy a money order, or a driver's license, or any form of ID for that matter.
No one needs a bank account or ID to send something overseas via DHL or FedEx.
Are we going to be taxing those services soon?
Muck Fexico.
the same way banks do.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
Va la arena de la libra Go POUND SAND!
Just like government--sneak in under the guise of 'doing something' about a problem it created with socialist policies.
I was initially for this, but then I realized that the solution of the problem is not to tax illegals. It's to get them the hell out. If lawmakers know that the illegals are using these places, WTF is stopping them from having cops stop in and check documents on Fridays at Western Unions and hospital emergency rooms where the illegals congregate to get their free medical care? And WTF is stopping them from taking advantage of student-teacher night to ask for tips on which parents are illegals, too, and getting the illegals deported without taxing ANYONE any more?
We know the answer to that, of course--the legislators wouldn't get police endorsements if they made cops do their !#@$!!$# jobs. And why would they have anyone in government do their jobs when they can get the private sector to assume the costs? It's a wonderful way to transfer the burden of policing illegals further onto the private sector instead of having the government do what it's already taxing us to do.
Since I have been aware of the positively STAGGERING amount of money that has been sent OUT of the country and hence remains UNCIRCULATED and a NON-stimulus to the same economy in which it was made, I wonder if ANY economist or financial writer, or whomever, has done any study demonstrating just what the net effects of this are on the US Economy? How could it be beneficial in any way? WHY do we put up with it?? In this context it looks like the money itself has been given up as a lost cause, but maybe
we can bite a piece out of it before it "leaves the room"??
Anybody know about such a study, or can anyone offer his economic expertise to give an overview of what happens to this economy when there is so much "outflow" from this strata of workers?
at this point, I'd be overjoyed if the government LET the private sector sort out the illegal alien problem, irrespective of how they are failing to do what they tax me for.
If the government LET us handle the issue, it wouldn't BE an issue after one year.
"at this point, I'd be overjoyed if the government LET the private sector sort out the illegal alien problem, irrespective of how they are failing to do what they tax me for. If the government LET us handle the issue, it wouldn't BE an issue after one year"
I agree--the feds should put a $100-a-head bounty on the criminal aliens and the country would be illegal-free by April. But as long as we're dreaming, I'd like a 1966 Testarossa and a 1988 Buick Grand National.
ah, come on, don't dream small... me, I'd like a modern-materials, nuclear powered, modern electronics, highly automated, modern ordnance battleship Yamato.
The private sector doesn't have a problem with illegals because they can pay them sub standard living, and the government subsidizes the rest.
the "private sector" includes everyone who is not in the government.
I would think that most of the 300million or so who fall in that class do indeed have a problem with the ongoing invasion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.