Posted on 07/08/2025 6:35:19 AM PDT by ek_hornbeck
The reconciliation bill signed by the president last week contains, among many other things, a “remittance tax”, which assesses a 1 percent fee on certain transfers of money abroad. Since earning money to send back home is one of the most common motivations for coming to the U.S., taxing remittances may discourage illegal immigration at the margins. A remittance tax could also help collect taxes on income that illegal immigrants would not otherwise report.
This post offers another justification for a remittance tax, which is to recover welfare money sent abroad. As discussed below, there appears to be significant overlap between households that send remittances and households that receive welfare. When U.S. taxpayers give means-tested benefits to residents who remit money outside our borders, the taxpayers are in effect subsidizing a portion of those remittances. A remittance tax could help recover U.S. taxpayer funds that were intended to raise living standards here but were instead diverted abroad.
(Excerpt) Read more at cis.org ...
1% isn’t nearly enough.
More like 50%.
I’d like to see 50% as well, but unfortunately if you make the rate too high, people will find ways to smuggle money out. So 20% gives the US a fair cut of the money while not creating too much of an incentive for bulk cash smuggling or wire fraud.
If they have enough money to send $500 a month to their extended families abroad, then they do not need the welfare to support themselves in this country.
The whole reason for welfare is to support destitute people who do not have the resources to support themselves.
So basically these people who are receiving welfare payments and then sending money abroad are committing welfare fraud.
The best part about the tax is that it will identify those people who are transferring money out of the country and who are committing welfare fraud. .
Exactly. The ones who come here with children have access to all sorts of social programs for their kids by claiming poverty. That $500 a month could go a long way towards childcare if it wasn't sent to Tio Jose back in Cuernavaca instead.
Ditto that.
Close to $150 billion sent abroad as remittances annually. Mexico receives $60 billion alone. Major incentive for foreign governments to support illegal migration to the U.S.
FTA-——A remittance tax could help recover U.S. taxpayer funds that were intended to raise living standards here but were instead diverted abroad.
PUSH THEM ALL OUT & THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARS.
I thot the tax was 50%. same as i pay in taxes. No?
Kind of like the 16th amendment.
It opens the door.
When they passed it, it was argued that only the very rich would pay like 1% tax.
But then, it snowballed quickly to 50% or so.
I think this sets the precedent and opens the door.
They may yank the rate higher later!
Taxing it creates a papertrail. A paper trail to the cartel collecting — so nothing nasty happens to your family.
It was a papertrail that did in the mafia.
Everyone else loses.
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