Posted on 02/26/2007 2:20:42 PM PST by oblomov
WASHINGTON — New legislation on Capitol Hill seeks to curb an increasingly popular mortgage concept: providing home loans to applicants using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in lieu of a Social Security number.
ITINs are issued by the Internal Revenue Service to assist immigrant workers who do not qualify for a Social Security number to report their income and pay federal taxes.
Dozens of banks around the country have begun offering home mortgages to undocumented immigrants using ITINs, but their programs generally have been low-key and small in volume. Bank of America provoked a controversy recently when it announced a pilot program in Los Angeles to provide credit cards to resident alien customers who lack Social Security numbers but have ITINs.
Some critics charged that the bank was seeking to profit by helping illegal immigrants who should be deported or prosecuted, not extended consumer credit. Bank of America said its program is legal and may be rolled out nationwide if the pilot is successful.
Now a bill has been introduced by Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Roseville) that would amend the Truth in Lending Act to make ITIN mortgage lending illegal.
Doolittle's office released a statement that said, in part: "The government should not be in the business of creating incentives to encourage illegal behavior."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I do. The government already makes it illegal for banks to knowingly lend money to crime syndicates or to fund criminal activity.
Lending money to illegals is an area that is not specifically delineated - but should be.
Are Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers issued to illegal immigrants?
If so, I think we have a bigger problem than bank loans.
This is stupid.
I wonder where all the "mark of the beast" folks will come down on this one...
The american people are only going to take so much before they go POP!
And let's not forget, if that bank goes belly up, who pays?
:O)
P
Doesn't the original law on ss state the number is not to be used for identification?
Trouble is, a lot of illegal immigrants started out legal, and became illegal when their visas expired. Can't pay taxes without either a SS# or TI#, and if people are working here legally, they need to be paying taxes.
ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status because both resident and nonresident aliens may have U.S. tax return and payment responsibilities under the Internal Revenue Code.
It makes it sound the like the government does care if your are illegal as long as they get their taxes paid.
The american people are only going to take so much before they go POP!"
This is one of the few times I agree with John Doolittle.
There should be no participation in our society of persons who broke the law to be here in the first place, IMO.
Why should money that is available for mortgages be lent to non-ci9tizens? Can you do the same in Mexico? NOT!!
There are many people who have lived in the USA all of their lives who deserve a chance at home ownership ahead of illegal intruders.
Besides- How can these people who want mortgage loans prove they have jobs to pay back the money if they do not have a Soc Sec number, and are working here legally? You are not supposed to be able to work on a TIN, only on a Soc Sec ##.
I thought the whole purpose of the ITIN was to provide an ID# (for tax purposes) to people who are foreign nationals and may or may not reside in the country -- but who have to file U.S. taxes.
A perfect example of this would be a Japanese real estate tycoon who lives in Tokyo but owns a skyscraper in Manhattan.
Yep... Still says so on my original SS card. New ones don't.
How long before you have to have (Insert favorite form of intrusive identification here) before you can buy and sell?
Neither do I. But many of those who've been worried for decades about the Social Security number becoming a national ID card have had a change of heart.
All of a sudden, Big Brother is welcome to come on in and have a seat.
The Republican Party has jumped the shark.
"You are not supposed to be able to work on a TIN, only on a Soc Sec ##.
The problem is not with the TIN, but rather to whom a TIN is assigned.
People here on temporary work visas do not have a SS number, but still have to pay taxes on their earnings. Therefore, they are assigned a TIN.
The government by making a TIN available to illegals are, in effect, condoning the criminal behavior of illegal aliens. Hence, a TIN should not be assigned to illegal aliens.
The reasoning behind assigning a TIN to illegal aliens may be due to the IRC's definition of taxable income, which states (I'm paraphrasing here): "All income, from whatever sources is taxable, unless exempt." Therefore income from illegal activies must be reported. So, income earned by illegal aliens must be reported as taxable income.
Still, I believe, a TIN should not be assigned to criminals, such as illegal aliens, with the expectation that these criminals will earn illegal income.
I ain't no tax lawyer.
I agree. Does anyone know if there is a law against loaning money to foreigners? I am pretty sure that foreigners are allowed to have bank accounts and receive loans in this country. My in-laws are not citizens and have bank accounts here. I am also pretty sure that this is important to our overall economy. Foreign investment is a good thing. How can you allow foreigners to have loans and invest in real estate, but limit investments by illegals? I don't know much about it, but it doesn't seem like this has been thought through.
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