Good find, Chief.
Sounds like our good fiends south of the border are afraid of losing a cash cow...
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.
So we are supposed to make life easy for those that break the law? Give me a break.... Let's look into how Mexico treats people who are in their country illegally. Oh wait, that's been done already and it wasn't pretty....
Ping
That's all the proof I need that it's a good idea.
They could always take their illegals back.
HOW DO YOU SAY "GO POUND SAND" IN SPANISH?
That would have really pissed me off when I was supporting my wife overseas with transfers. This would have cost me hundreds.
As far as illegals, interesting idea.
It's not a tax, es una inversión para los ninos.
Bump...
Good find, Chief.
Sounds like our good fiends south of the border are afraid of losing a cash cow...
God Forbid they'd have to pay for at least part of the benefits they receive here...
We should tax whats sent home and then SUBTRACT the total amount ( not just the tax dollars) from the foreign aid we send them on top of it.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
www.bearstearns.com/bscportal/pdfs/underground.pdf
That's the fastest growing industry in the part of Houston where I live.
On every corner, there are institutions of money-changers -- small shops which advertise "wire money". People line up, every Friday night after getting paid -- to send U.S. dollars to their people in Mexico.
I imagine hearing the combination of a loud sucking noise and the caa-ching, caa-ching of money being flushed down the toilet.
I like it, I like it!!!!
Brilliant idea except for fake documents.
Could the Mexican gov. be any more obvious? America is their second largest source of income. Combine that with the oil We buy from them and they're total dependents.
That's a misrepresentation of the Arizona bill.
It will not penalize someone in your circumstances.
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.