Posted on 09/18/2017 10:15:04 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Widening earlier claims of immigration fraud at the Tesla factory, a recently unsealed whistleblower suit says several other major automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen, illegally used foreign construction workers to build their U.S. factories.
The charges expand on an investigation by this news organization last year into foreign construction workers building Tesla’s paint shop in Fremont. The federal suit charges that the carmakers used hundreds of Eastern European workers on suspect visas hired through subcontractors for the German company Eisenmann.
The investigation, “The Hidden Workforce Expanding Tesla’s Factory,” and court documents revealed at least 140 foreign workers on questionable business visas worked on the factory expansion for as little as $5 an hour.
The suit, which comes as the Trump administration pushes new limits on legal and illegal immigration, claims the hiring of lower-cost European construction workers may have cost the U.S. hundreds of jobs and millions in lost wages.
It alleges the companies created or helped promote the delivery of “false and fraudulent documents to the United States to secure illegal visas for their direct and indirect employees to come to the United States.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Illegal foreign workers and $5B in taxpayer funding. How many Teslas have you paid for that you don’t drive?
Where’s DOJ? Where’s State?
No such thing as an “illegal foreign worker” in CA, remember?
And Tesla has more than paid back that taxpayer funding.
You mean the DOJ that shipped guns to cartels in Mexico?
The State Dept. that shipped weapons to jihadis?
It’s Confirmed: Without Government Subsidies, Tesla Sales Implode
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-11/its-confirmed-without-government-subsidies-tesla-sales-implode
And $16 ($5B/300M) doesn’t get you much of a Tesla.
Illegal or not and no matter whose Government the steel boot of the Federal Government is there for a primary purpose; to sieze assets, confiscate money and then wastefully spend it by lining the pockets of loyalists.
Sessions wont do a thing...worst AG in history
Disingenuous example.
Denmark exempted imported EVs from a 180% import tax, prompting high sales.
Denmark then (prolonged details at link) ended the exemption, more than doubling the price of EVs.
OF COURSE SALES PLUMMETED.
It’s an example of extreme taxation screwing up a market.
Same thing happened in Georgia.
Georgia (having Atlanta and its smog problems) promoted EV use by offering a tax credit* that basically made leasing a Nissan Leaf practically free for 2 years.
Lots of people used that tax credit* and enjoyed their Leaf.
Then the tax credit* ended, the leases ended, and the EV market dried up relative to what it had been.
OF COURSE SALES/LEASES PLUMMETED.
It’s an example of extreme taxation screwing up a market.
What’s notable is that Tesla & Nissan & others continue to make their EVs, despite the artificial f-ups by legislators. Lots of people like them, increasing numbers are buying them.
* tax credit = you get to keep your money. This is a GOOD THING; given that we’re unlikely to get massive across-the-board tax cuts, I’m all for narrow tax credits wherever we can get them. These are NOT subsidies.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch...these are subsidies and GA taxpayers paid them in several ways.
New law curbs Georgia’s electric car sales
http://scienceline.org/2015/06/georgia-was-a-haven-for-electric-vehicles-a-new-law-may-change-that/
Excerpt:
“The Transportation Funding Act of 2015’s electric vehicle statute was put in place to end the program’s cost, which, according to a Georgia State University Center for State and Local Finance report, was more than $1 million in 2012 and more than $14 million in 2013.”
Are you saying that Tesla paid the government back $5B? Simply providing jobs for people doesn’t put my tax money back in my pocket.
Tax revenue reduced to encourage people to use EVs.
I reject the notion that a tax cut (credits included) “costs” tax payers. Taxes SHOULD be cut.
Insofar as we can’t get across-the-board cuts I’ll go along with any cuts that can be arranged.
Insofar as government subsequently sees lower revenue, government should cut spending to match.
That GA eliminated the tax credit is not surprising.
Musk himself paid $0.5B in taxes on Tesla stock last year alone. That’s straight-up payback of 10% of “government money” with a single check.
Tesla stock has a market cap of $56.0B. Much of that is “money from nothing”; sale of $20.0B of which generates completely new taxes - paying the government back its $5.0B, with more to come.
Understand that GA did _not_ write EV owners/leasers a check.
It was a _tax_credit_.
I paid the full price of a 2-year lease out of my pocket, about $8640.
In return, GA lowered my taxes by $5000 (useable across 5 years, _not_ “refundable”), and energy sourcing saved me about $3640. The net cost _to_me_ was about $0.
That did NOT take anything out of _your_ pocket. Your taxes did not rise.
AND I did still pay taxes: the $5000 became federally taxable, and I promptly spent the “saved” $8640 elsewhere which was taxed as well.
In the end, all levels of gov’t netted about $2000 less, and Atlanta got a significant reduction in smog and a chicken-and-egg boost for a desirable new transportation technology.
Remember: as right-wing conservatives, we WANT tax cuts. If tax revenue decreases, government is responsible for cutting spending accordingly. Done right, those tax cuts will INCREASE revenue.
“paying the government back its $5.0B, with more to come.”
So, how will I get my cut that was taken from me??
Government has no business in business.
Tesla- and SpaceX-originating taxes, revenue that otherwise would not have been collected, exceeds $5.0B.
Musk alone paid $2.5B in taxes just last year.
“Your cut” was leveraged into more than what you paid. That’s a good thing. If legislators were to pay attention to such things, they could start reducing your tax liabilities.
Bmk for later to post to my Telsa loving moonbat relative...
““Your cut” was leveraged into more than what you paid”
That is BS. It took money that might otherwise have been used to generate even more than what Tesla lines its pockets with.
You don’t know capitalism. You’re an idiot who thinks government creates jobs by taking everyone’s money and choosing the winners.
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.