Posted on 07/01/2006 6:07:10 PM PDT by pigdog
Illegal Immigrants and Others Working Off the Books Cost the U.S. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Unpaid Taxes
America has two economies: First, there's the legitimate economy, in which craftsmen are licensed and employers and employees pay taxes. Then there's the fast-growing underground economy, where millions of nannies, construction workers, landscapers and others are paid off the books, their incomes largely untaxed. The best guess as to the size of the output of this shadow economy is about $970 billion, or nearly 9% that of the real economy. It could soon pass $1 trillion.
What is largely fueling the underground economy, experts say, is the nation's growing ranks of low-wage, illegal immigrants. The government puts this population at 8.5 million, but that may represent a serious undercount. Robert Justich, a senior managing director at Bear Stearns Asset Management, makes a persuasive case in a recent research report that illegal immigrants actually number 18 million to 20 million. If that's true, the economic implications are profound and could help shape this year's debates over both immigration policies and tax reform.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsjclassroom.com ...
I didn't say it was. Maybe that was another poster.
Address changes will have to be tracked on a monthly basis, deaths, births, etc. That won't happen cheaply.
Just so happens the SS admin already does this. They've been doing it for years.
SO do away with the IRS, or more accurately, rename and expand it to take care of that workload.
It's the SS admin that will need to add computers and personnel. But the IRS will be defunded. And a portion of its 11 Billion budget can be used to pay for computers and personnel at SSA.
All existing income tax reords (save those delinquent at changeover) will be destroyed.
That's wrong.
There is no problem working for cash. No documentation is required from individuals.
The nrst's base is consumption, not income. Even those who earn their livings in cash will pay their share of taxes. That's why illegals will pay their share. That's why criminals will pay their share.
There will be no auditing of individuals, only businesses.
The number of filers will be reduced by 90%. Enforcement will be easier.
If they're low wage workers, how much tax would they owe if they were put on payrolls now? Wouldn't they be entitled to an earned income tax credit under our current tax system?
It's not based on income, it's based on consumption.
The rebate goes to every family who is are legal US residents and choose to receive it.
The SSA already sends checks out monthly - there is no new agency needed. Only an expansion of SSA.
Thee won't be 300 million checks cut monthly.
Even the most virulent nrst opponents stipulate a savings of 200 billion dollars on compliance costs of planning alone.
Actually, its the employer who is getting away with not paying taxes, low income workers don't have much of a tax burden.
The only info I have is from 2001 -
The lowest quintile (0-14900) has an effective income/payoll rate of 5.4%. link
Read this post and straighten him out.
As for me, part of my income is wages, part is from a sole proprietorship. How screwed is that going to leave me? I am an individual and a business, as many are.
At least now I can write off the equipment, supplies, and expenses I need for my business, and not have to claim that as income.
Instead, you would have me taxed on that, unable to write off the expenses, and have to collect taxes on the services I provide, which means my clients would be screaming for rate cuts, leaving me squeezed coming and going.
Taxes are bad enough without getting bent over twice.
The income tax and all of the things that go to make it up presently is eliminated by law with the passage of the FairTax and to verify this you should read the first few pages of the bill. It's there in black letter law. It also requires that income tax records be destroyed and calls for the repeal of the 16th amendment (a law for which is before Congress). The tax bill cannot also be an amendment repeal bill as the requirements are quite different.
"WHen one of the justifications of the alternative is that it will tax those who should not be here in the first place, and who, on balance cost the taxpayers a mint, then that undermines the drive to find a solution to the initial problem. To wit: that the spending mandated by programs for people who should not be here will not be addressed at its root cause, their presence. "
the effect of the FairTax causing illegal aliens to pay more in tax than at present is certainly not a "justification" at all but merely a pointing out that it is a disincentive to those here illegally to not come in the first place since it's no longer so profitable with all of us footing their tax bills as at present. You've got it backwards. It does not alter at all the drive to kick them out at all. No one is even suggesting that they be kept here just to pay tax - that would be self-defeating. But the Fairtax does put another roadblock in front of those who'd like to leech a livelihood from Uncle Sugar and his taxpayers.
They could never "justify their presence" by paying their fair share. They're here illegally and should go back to their origins.
As for the prebate, it would be paid almost entirely by wire transfer since that is by far the cheapest and most efficient payment means presently. The government does this with many employees and SSA recipients. Done this way it costs very little in the way of extra effort on the part of the SSA.
As for seeing how much you presently pay in taxes, you don't. There are hidden taxes embedded into the prices of everything that you buy right now. And they're called "hidden" because they are just that - not readily seen or considered; but they're there just the same.
I don't want taxes collected from them. They can never pay for the social services they suck up. I want them sent home.
That's even better.
"At least now I can write off the equipment, supplies, and expenses I need for my business, and not have to claim that as income. "
You describe things that are untaxed under the FairTax as being taxed - they're not, nor is your income whether business or personal. Nor do you pay the tax on things you sell (if they are taxable - and perhaps they aren't) - your retail buyers do, not you.
You merely collect the tax and forward it to the state sales tax folks and are paid to do that. I suggest you read the bill and the FairTax website before jumping to such conclusions.
Yet 43% of people who file a tax return owe no tax. I just looked it up. If immigrants belong to the underground economy then payroll tax is a non issue, they would pay more in sales tax, but still would be off the books.
According to critics, doctors, dentists, lawyers, gardeners, and a host of new tax collectors will be created.
Which brings me to the question, what happens to medical expenses if another 23-30% is added to a medical bill? Will insurance pick that up or will it be out of pocket?
Both Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan testified before Congress that the Fair Tax is the perfect tax system.No they didn't.
You conveniently ignore the fact there are currently 55 cosponsors in the House and three in the Senate compared to April 2005 when there were only 33 cosponsors in the House and none in the Senate. Obviously Fair tax support is gaining momentum.Huh? The bill was introduced in January 2005. In the 108th Congress, the bill had 54 supporters in the House. It has 54 now (unless you want to count those that aren't even in the House still). That's not momentum.
The 5.4% or whatever it was was the effective income AND Payroll taxes combined.
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.