One of the most polarizing features of the proposed immigration bill is whether illegal immigrants currently living in the United States should be granted a form of amnesty. Opponents claim, among other things, that illegal immigrants have not paid taxes while living and working in the United States. Proponents of the bill say that’s not true and cite increased numbers of ITIN (individual tax identification number) filings as evidence that immigrants are paying taxes, even if it’s under the radar; they acknowledge, however, that proof of filing consistently may be difficult.
So today’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is actually a series of questions:
Should offering proof of filing and paying US taxes be part of any amnesty bill for immigration? And if so, how many years would be appropriate? Understanding that compensation will be difficult to prove because it was most likely “under the table”, what kind of proof would be acceptable?
I think a bigger question is how are we going to pay them. One of the arguments for granting amnesty is that they work at jobs no one else wants and they work for low pay. If they are granted amnesty, suddenly they have to be paid minimum wage. If they don’t have to be paid minimum wage, we are in effect creating a slave class.
Kelly, you have a great knack of tying taxes in with most any current events story…and making me think of topics I hadn’t considered before.
Thanks Mary Emma!
Sunny,
I completely agree with you. Beyond the issue of the minimum wage (which was just raised), there’s the hidden costs of having a “legitimate” worker including taxes (which can be significant) and benefits.
Minimum 3 years IMO, with minimum of 1040 filings. Yes much compensation has been off books. Will the migrant support groups be coaching the potential Z-visa applicants. So many domestics (nannies and housekeepers) have the opportunity to go back to their employers for W-2s here too – will they? Will be interesting to see how this plays out.