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.
I'm afraid the source you posted (NYT) woeful;ly misstates the case (and assumes that all illegal aliens have payroll taxes withheld to boot) since the number they claim is 7 million illegals.
The Bear Stearns study previously mentioned has done a very careful and rigorous study and comes up with 21 million; 3 times as much as the NYT. And frankly I doubt that most illegals have payroll withholding. Based upon the numbers of "day laborers" I seen in city after city all over the country it appears to me that there are plenty who are in the illegal economy.
Certainly it is a problem enforcement of the existing laws which (as you've pointed out) them seem unwilling to do. Regardless (and ignoring whether or not illegals pay payroll taxes) the entitlement programs are going bankrupt due to their reliance on income as a base for revenue.
With the FairTax, this changes and consumption - which is larger than the income base - becomes the base to keep from breaking the bank while, hopefully, forcing the government to drastically revise (or preferably eliminate) all entitlements. It has the side benefit of taxing the entire illegal economy (not just illegal aliens) and might even make it less attractive for the illegal aliens to be here since the ride is no longer so free. At the very least it offers less encouragement than the present tax system.
Hear, hear!!!
Now, there's an idea with merit!
Nevertheless, the monies are there, and the source appears to be (mostly) illegal aliens.
Don't ignore the truth squabbling over numbers that no one can substantiate, or because you don't like the course.
The entitlement programs are going bankrupt because all entitlement programs sooner or later do!
Arizona's bill is just wrong. Taxing all cash transfers regardless of whether those funds have already been taxed is wrong.
No need to correct your spelling - you do much better than I. I do find a lot to like in your Ants thread especially the curtailing of entitlements. They are terribly our of control. For my money (pun intended) they should be eliminated over as short a time as can be arranged - but they are very well entrenched and pols are very cowardly considering reelection as Job One.
Throughout the threads I think that "immigration" is used whereas I've always thought of that spelling to deonote legal entry into a country with the idea of becoming a citizen and "emigration" as merely moving there (as in "illegal emigration") but the terms have become so misused over the years that one may be indistinguishable from the other.
No question that this country needs to enforce and itighten immigration laws but I'm not so lenient about grandfathering in everyone automatically since I believe that send the wrong messsaage, Perhaps give them some number of points in an emigration point system and mix them in with other emigration quotas. There probably is no answer that is equitable to everyone in that matter.
IAE I do believe the FairTax would be a great help since in the interim it will keep the damnable entitlements afloat until we can either pare them down of (hopefully) get rid of them. The FairTax will also work as a mild disincentive rather than encouraging illegal immigration. Aside from that it would give taxpayers somewhat better visibility of what "their" government actually costs them as well as more influence over aiding and abeting government tax revenues - and more cognizance over what the pols are doing with our tax money. This latter is presently hard to do with all the nooks and crannies affortded by the tax code to hide things by the pols.
I certainly agree that the XIV amendment has gone beyond the penumbra. And, no I don't care for the NYT and find much of their data suspect, but your I did gather they were talking about those paying withholdings ... I think it (legals) are smaller with more illegals not paying, however. I note the SSA suspense file for numbers that don't "tally" and wonder how many they've missed that slip through. Our government doesn't do a really good job with statistics it seems.
Also looks like Napa. The main drag is morphing into a little Tiajuana with each business having an area where money can be wired to Mexico.
Or, better yet, see post #133 - #135.
The term "illegal immigrant" is an oxymoron.
Amen.
Mexico is NOT our friend. Mexico is our enemy.
Georgia and Arizona BUMP. If the Mexican government is complaining, these two states are doing something right.
Ha! I'm reminded of the guy in front of me at the convenience store who tried to buy beer and the attendant asked three times for ID and each time the guy just said "Na".
The guy finally turned and walked away mumbling and the attendant said, "No ID, no beer."
Ought to be the same ID requirements for money transfers. No ID, no money order. The Patriot Act already lays the base to stop funding terrorists. It ought apply to anyone without a valid ID - since dollars are GOVERNMENT NOTES.
Exactly. It's like that scene in The Untouchables. Everyone knows where the illegals are...except the people who are supposed to do something about it. They can't seem to find `em at all. Worse, when on the rare occasions they actually DO find illegals and attempt to deport `em and bust their employers, nothing happens to the illegals or their enablers, and the public employees who are actually doing their jobs get in trouble with their do-nothing bosses for rocking the boat.
The problem is that it is hard to think about this issue without being furious at the crime, disease, heavier taxes, and increased government bureaucracy that Americans must contend with as a result of illegal immigration, and anger clouds judgment.
I have already admitted as much in my initial post on this thread. I am not for anything but closing the borders to immigration until the whole illegal situation is resolved, so it would be hard to characterize me as pro-jumper. But this is misguided, in that it simply increases the government dependency on illegals and gives people some false hope that something is done about the illegal problem.
I believe the best solutoion is to fund the S/S & M/C entitlements through the FairTax which uses consumption rather than income as the base.
In that way the government is not locked into wage withholdings from the illegals (which are relatively small, I think) and everyone pays taxes on final consumption of taxable items at the same rate. The entitlements will continue to be funded until they can be revamped or - better yet - cancelled. That alone (the FairTax), I believe, will discourage some part of the emigration.
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