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.
No, governments have a history of doing things that are outside their authority. To ask by what authority a government entity does something extralegal is to offer a rhetorical question.
I wouldn't even let them send the money back home in the first place.
Quickest way to stop this madness.
The reason that they get away with is is that a portion of the people support their extralegal activities.
The gun grabbers supported the idea of making retailers governmental agents in charge of checking criminal backgrounds, and now another group of people support the idea of making money transfer services an arm of the INS.
Little by little, we receive every bit of the governmental intrusion that we demand...funny thing is, all that's needed here is for the government to do what they are supposed to do.
Instead, they are talking us into paying higher taxes on something that won't have the least impact on the growing population of illegal aliens in the country.
It will however, make the government more money.
you don't have to provide proof "on demand" - only if you choose to engage in a specified activity. the onus is on you to provide the requisite documentation - birth certificate, naturlaization papers, green-card, whatever.
the constitution does empower the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, and impose taxes/tarrifs on international commerce, does it not?
state constitutions do empower the several states to levy taxes on commerce within their borders, do they not?
“Making life difficult for people who aren't legal...
How can I help?
“Making life difficult for people who aren't legal...
How can I help?
We should be sending Mexico a bill for what it's costing us. We should be putting a lot more pressure on the Mexican gov't to clean up their act. We're builing democracy in Iraq, but look what we got just south of the border. Mexico is not a poor country, it's a corrupt country.
It would be easy to get around this. They obviously haven't heard about PayPal or other services that will allow you to transfer money without it being traced.
How bout just closing the friggin borders and shut the eff up!! Forget about all of these crazy schemes and do something already!!
That makes 2 of us. Now all we need is 25 million of us to vote em all out. Is this a great country or what? I mean, what's left of it.
Why should I be required to show documents to use such a basic service?
You're not fixing a problem, you're creating opportunity for criminals to make more money. It creates more opportunity for corruption.
You guys are empowering the government to intrude themselves more into our lives, to take more of our money, and to grow in size and scope.
All of that in order to do something about a problem the government itself created.
And at the end of the day, the problem will not be solved, law-abiding citizens will be required to carry "documents" with them in order to perform the most basic financial transactions, illegal aliens will continue pouring into the country, they will continue sending money to their families, and politicians will be asking for more of our money for some other idiotic scheme that they will not follow through on.
No more laws, and no more taxes.
Demand that they enforce the laws already in place using the taxes they're already collecting.
Reagan was right, but you all have forgotten him.
Va la arena de la libra
The proposal is not to tax the illegals but certain transactions. It makes them even less illigitmate, IMO.
Most amusing.
Reagan pulled an amnesty, so citing him on this issue is an error.
by all means, enforce the Constitutional role of the federal military in sealing the border from foreign invasion. That be much better than refusing to make life easy for illegal invaders. In the meantime, until that unlikely thing takes place, we must do what we can.
Tax 'em wherever it is possible to tax them specifically.
You will not be taxing "them", you will be taxing us.
"Government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem." -- Ronald Reagan
As I said...taxing us.
"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."
Untaxed?
LOL!!!!
They just want to tax it again.
Next, they'll tax the money you send your parents in their ALF in Florida.
which he went on to prove... by pushing through an amnesty for illegal aliens.
You will not be taxing "them", you will be taxing us.
if the "us" you include yourself in gets taxed by the GEORGIA law, then you are apparently admitting you are an illegal alien. Leave my state and go home, then.
if the "us" you include yourself in does NOT get taxed by the GEORGIA law, then WHAT are you moaning about?
Lets tax it at about 50%....then maybe some of them will walk it back home!
LOL!!!
Hell man!
You are giving in and admitting that you can't get them out of your State, and advocating making them taxpayers instead!!
Next thing you know, you'll be supporting the issuance of driver's licenses for illegals so that they can tax their use of your roads.
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