Illegal immigration and taxes?
It seems to me that the primary problem with illegal immigration is not that motivated undocumented immigrants are coming to the US to find jobs, but rather the fact that they use (and feel entitled to) our abundant social services without paying one dime into the system.
It is the tax dollars of hard working American citizens that fund our social services and due to their illegal status these undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes. This fact makes addressing the issue somewhat problematic. If you are an illegal immigrant what motivation do you have to change your status when your reward will be that the federal government will begin removing a part of your income in taxes for the privilege? Additionally, it will be harder for you to remain gainfully employed because your employer must also start paying things like workman’s comp, social security, etc…
So… how, might you ask, do we get the undocumented work force to begin picking up their fair share of the social services tab? Abolish the IRS in favor of a national at the register sales tax. Food, housing, as well as a modest per individual clothing allowance can be exempted so that the underprivileged will not pay any of their income in taxes. However, if one is purchasing anything other than the basics like food, functional clothing and shelter they are doing OK from a financial perspective.
With such a system everyone who lives in this country regardless of legal status will pay for our social services in proportion to the benefits of society that they enjoy. In other words, such a system is naturally progressive in that poor folks will purchase very little other than the basic tax exempt items and will pay little or nothing while those who have more to spend will pay more.
With such a system the financial penalties involved with becoming a legal citizen are removed and the motivation becomes one of legal protection. If one wants the full rights of a citizen, then become a naturalized citizen. If one wishes to remain illegal, then at least one will foot some of the bill for the infrastructure with every purchase of a “Viva Mexico” phone card, six pack of beer, or other non-essential item so abundant in our retail outlets.
So… whatdoyathink?
Answer:
I agree with abolishing the IRS. Of course, hundreds of tax experts would be out of a job, but I dont' care too much for tax experts.
I'm not sure about taxing items individually, because of the "sin tax" we pay now. So there'd be "Extra" taxes on cigarettes and SUVs like we have today, and eventually, everything will have an extra "sin tax", which leaves the system broken. Then people will decide what gets taxed extra, and if you do something unpopular, you'll have to pay more. That's not fair either.
I would instead propose an across the board tax. If everyone pays 10% of their income regardless, everyone pays a fair share on their taxes.
As far as illegal immigration is concerned, it has no place in this equation. By saying what you've said, you've generally accepted that illegal immigration is something we should just accept. I wholeheartedly disagree with that.
It's giving politicians another burden to tack on to American citizens instead of actually following the laws we have in place. Your plan, while well intended and excellently thought out, remains a band-aid, another step towards ANOTHER amnesty, and is a general acceptace of a problem that needs to be solved, and not ignored.
We shouldnt' be figuring out how to include illegals in our tax system. We should be figuring out how to make it so difficult for lawbreakers to profit or benefit from this country that they don't want to bother.
I agree with your points, except that, for me, the objection to illegal immigration is not their use of taxpayer-supported services. Many illegals do pay taxes, since they use other people's i.d. cards and/or fake I.D. cards. As a result, the employer presumably still does the deductions, and the alien does not file for refunds (and how many earn enough that they would pay in more?).
I think they should be dealt with because the law of the land is set regarding documentation.
I think you have been using some of the drugs I smuggled from the great Mexico
This idea has been floated around by many for various reasons. Another popular reason was because it would allow the taxation of criminals who don't pay taxes on their income. It's an interesting idea that is not without problems.
A lot of illegals, though, pay taxes because they work with phony social security numbers and cannot claim refunds.
There is a lot of pressure against a federal sales tax. In fact, states do what they can to lower or avoid state sales taxes because some believe it hurts sales. It might be seen as an infringement of states' rights as it would nullify a state's decision to do away with the sales tax. Some states attract shoppers across state lines by selling the same products but without the sales tax and thus at a discount.
I think most states exempt essential food items and some clothing. Deciding what is essential would be a huge undertaking. Consumer spending accounts for two thirds of our GNP and the vast majority of what consumers buy is not necessary and would need to be taxed. Would this hurt consumer spending? Sometimes it seems as if the only thing Americans care about is the stock market and how it affects their pocketbooks. There is also a danger in creating an underground economy dealing in untaxed goods.
All that being said, it's nice to hear constructive ideas about this problem that is practical and has a good chance at success if it were tried. Unfortunately, changing the entire funding system for the world's largest economy is a terrifying thought and there will be a lot of pressure from special interest groups to not do it (think of your local shopping mall).
Sounds like a plan that should be at least explored further to determine if it can function in the real world . The real problem is people resent Mexicans coming here period . Only corporations and Industries that rely on physical labor benefit from the lower cost of Mexican labor .
Seems the rate in which Americans are compensated for work is the real issue .
Does working in a field all day harvesting food mean that you must live in a wooden shack with a dirt floor and be happy the owner lets you eat some of the food you harvest .And because you will complain when your children get sick and not work that day to care for them he might provide a doctor because to do anything less would cause others to become unhappy aand maybe leave .
See you only need to provide the basic care for people as an employer and to this day nothing has changed .The cost of maintaining slaves was minimum wage .Today you are free to collect welfare if you want and not work ,but they have made those places unsafe by allowing drugs and alcoholism to attach itself so deeply in the poor communities that most halfway educated and capable people will choose to work for wal mart pay rent and go to the emergency room for medical care . LOT of freedom here in America .bad or worse if you where not blessed by your DNA . I have met and been around people who just could not grasp the concept of 2y(5-1)=10 . So what do we offer those who by birth are less able to educate themselves .
Seems what we really need is for people to accept that an awful lot of manual work is needed to support a society and those who do this work should also be compensated in a manner that allows both the engineer and the worker to enjoy a shelter meals and feeling of well being in our society .
Nothing is built on paper .Engineering is thousands of years of collapsed buildings and failed plans drawn in the dirt 5000 years ago to paper today .Its is so nice today to spend millions of dollars testing the strength of wood to determine if a 2x4 is needed a 2x6 2x10, 2x12 , when all we are really doing is stretching out the resources and maximizing profits .Thats why A 2x4 is really a 11/2"x 3" . Does it really take a rocket scientist to design a home ? Not really or an engineer and architect payed excessive amounts of money .Once you understand the use of materials and sound building methods .Those so called smart people could actually be building homes and losing a few pounds . I once told a guy without my plan there is no way you could build anything .To which he replied the foundation was off two feet and i would of called you to make a change in the length of the rafters and pitch of the roof but it would of add 5000 dollars to the cost of this over priced house and gotten the guy who laid out the foundation in trouble so I re-engineered it on site at no cost to anyone and continued to provide a shelter for a man and his family . Smart people are only concerned with making a nickel off the back of everyone else and letting them know how smart they are . Complaining among themselves about the ignorant masses who have no education and actually do something for a living . It was shortly after that conversation I began working .
Ok here it is, everyone can say whatever they want about Illegal Mexican, But we all take advantage of all of them...Everything you buy has probably been touched by an illegal alien...And everyone is hollering about them not paying taxes.OK.Most of the illegal mexicans working in this country work under bad social security numbers,,,, created by who..citizens of our country.way to go..Okay now, lets think about all the taxes that are pulled out of all those bad illegal aliens,,,,where do you suppose all that goes,,,,,they can't file taxes, so guess what our government gets it. So who is the bad people out of this ..
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