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Should We Tax Remittance Payments?

Should we tax remittance payments?

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 29.6%

  • No

    Votes: 19 70.4%
  • Total voters
    27
phattonez said:
stem.
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Maybe a little research into what degrees lead to good careers. College just for a degree’s sake is not a good strategy.
I hope it works out for the best for your colleagues. Same old phat, cheers!
 
Praxas said:
How do you know what he does or doesn’t do for his community and what right do you have to determine what he should or shouldn’t do?
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I wasn't necessarily saying that he doesn't do anything for his community. I'm just trying to get an understanding of his sense of values and whether he thinks any preference should be given to the local over the global.
 
Spartacus FPV said:
Well I have an easy fix for that, but I don't think you would like it.

Welfare state or open borders, can't have both.

Also, just because something could have benefited you, but didn't, doesn't mean you are harmed. Not anymore than a wealthy person cutting back their spending/investments. As for jobs that could have been done by Americans, if they can steal your job you suck and will likely be replaced by a machine/kiosk soon anyways.
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That (bolded above) is nonsense. Having some paying "third world" wages devalues that job for everyone. In order to compete with those willing to live three to a bedroom you must do the same.
 
phattonez said:
Do you have any sense of responsibility to your local community? Do you feel that you owe your neighbors anything? Or are you an atomized individual?
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I pay 6 figures in federal income tax alone every year and gave 20 years of my life to service in the US military. I have given more than I have taken from my country. But like most people, yeah, I feel more responsibility to my family than neighbors.
 
Rexedgar said:
How will you feel when someone tells you where and how to spend your money?
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No opinion either way atm on the OP....just wanted to make a point to what you're saying here...

That's already happening. It's called "sin taxes" like what Seattle just instituted where a 16 dollar product becomes a 26 dollar product due to sin taxes.
 
phattonez said:
Do you have any sense of responsibility to your local community? Do you feel that you owe your neighbors anything? Or are you an atomized individual?
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You are now way out in the weeds. Should any and all money spent outside of your local community be subject to your proposed new "not spent locally" tax?
 
Kal'Stang said:
No opinion either way atm on the OP....just wanted to make a point to what you're saying here...

That's already happening. It's called "sin taxes" like what Seattle just instituted where a 16 dollar product becomes a 26 dollar product due to sin taxes.
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There is that choice thing. If enough people vote with their money don’t you think the merchants will get changes in place.
 
Rexedgar said:
There is that choice thing. If enough people vote with their money don’t you think the merchants will get changes in place.
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So sending money to other countries isn't a choice thing also? Hmm....
 
Kal'Stang said:
So sending money to other countries isn't a choice thing also? Hmm....
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I’m not following the point. How does someone sending money where they wish and sugar tax in Seattle have to do with the price of tea in China?
 
Rexedgar said:
Maybe a little research into what degrees lead to good careers. College just for a degree’s sake is not a good strategy.
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It's not, but that's exactly what our schools have been telling young people for decades now. Meanwhile, jobs that actually pay pretty well (think skilled trades) are often taken by immigrants. Take a look at excerpts from this Washington Post article:

Washington Post said:
Oscar Cortez feels like he has an ordinary American life. He carries a Costco card. He roots for the Boston Red Sox. And five days a week, he rises before dawn, pulls on four shirts and two pairs of pants, and ventures into the frigid air to work as a plumber, a good job that pays for his Maryland townhouse and his daughters’ college fund.
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Here is the sob part. Look at the life he's created for himself. He's just like any American! Here is the part where you blood ought to start boiling:

With TPS, he was able to work legally with a steady paycheck, health benefits, and a 401(k). Shapiro & Duncan sent him to school to become a plumber. He has worked there for 15 years and owns a townhouse in Aspen Hill.
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How interesting! Then look at this:

Mark Drury, vice president of business development for Shapiro & Duncan, said the end of TPS would worsen a lack of skilled tradespeople that is causing his company to turn down jobs.
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Of course! You see, this firm needs TPS because they don't have enough tradespeople. So they can afford to pay and train immigrants, but for some reason can't do the same with Americans. I wonder why that is!

By the way, the Washington Post edited much of this article, so much of the info about Shaprio & Duncan has been chopped out, but the archived version still has it.

http://archive.is/Gbm7F

I hope it works out for the best for your colleagues. Same old phat, cheers!
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To you as well!
 
ttwtt78640 said:
That (bolded above) is nonsense. Having some paying "third world" wages devalues that job for everyone. In order to compete with those willing to live three to a bedroom you must do the same.
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Agreed. It's absolute nonsense. They use the same argument with farm workers. Large farms love the 3rd world labor because it keeps their expenses low. Yes, they could be buying machines, but you still need the laborers out there, and the fact is that Americans would be taking those jobs if they paid decent wages.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
I pay 6 figures in federal income tax alone every year and gave 20 years of my life to service in the US military. I have given more than I have taken from my country. But like most people, yeah, I feel more responsibility to my family than neighbors.
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That wasn't exactly the question. Do you feel more responsibility to your neighbor down the street than to a foreigner?
 
ttwtt78640 said:
How is that not the fault of the taxing authority?
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It really is irrelevant to this issue, but I do recognize that if you come here you're going to get tax credits and welfare benefits, so it's not that big of a deal if your job pays minimum wage. As for Americans, they're not as willing to go for that deal, which is why employers LOVE foreign labor.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
You are now way out in the weeds. Should any and all money spent outside of your local community be subject to your proposed new "not spent locally" tax?
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No, I'd be hesitant to do that, but there's much more value in spending your money in your local community that sending it to some huge corporation far away.
 
Rexedgar said:
What is that statement based on?
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The fact that Pew estimates the average wage of illegal alien at 36K a year, and that large numbers of them work for cash.

Even if an illegal immigrant was fully on the books with a taxpayer ID number, the pew estimate was for a three person household, so two dependents, at least one child tax credit if the child is a US citizen, standard deduction (as a head of household at 9,500 dollars) means taxable income is 26,500. So again as a head of household income tax owed would be 3,307 dollars. Except that since our worker has a kid and can claim EITC and makes less then 39K (at least on the books) he can claim 3300 dollars in the earned income tax credit
 
Oh for christ sakes. :roll:

NO.

People legally in the US, who work, then get taxed on those earnings should not be re-taxed for then sending whatever's left of their money to their family.

Stop trying to blame immigrants for everything.
 
phattonez said:
No, I'd be hesitant to do that, but there's much more value in spending your money in your local community that sending it to some huge corporation far away.
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Perhaps, but since my state charges 8.25% sales tax on local purchases, I may elect to buy (from who knows where) on Amazon and, not only can I often get a better product price, avoid the sales tax as well.
 
Below is a liberal's summary on why it is a good idea to bleed the economy of the "wealthy" countries (grin).
The reason I'm posting it is because the introduction has some stunning data ... and yes, I'm all for taxing remittance payments to foreign countries.
After all, liberals keep telling me that illegal aliens contribute to our economy by spending their money here. :lol:

March 2017 - "In 2016, migrant remittance flows to developing countries amounted to $440 billion, more than three times the size of official development aid flows. In many countries, remittances are the largest source of foreign exchange. In India and Mexico, they are larger than foreign direct investment; in Egypt, they are larger than the revenue from Suez Canal; and in Pakistan, they are larger than the country’s international reserves.

Recently, a number of rich countries that host a large number of migrants are considering taxation of outward remittances, in part to raise revenue, and in part to discourage undocumented migrants. The list of countries where such taxes are being considered includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. (In the United States, Oklahoma taxes remittances at the rate of $5 for the first $500 and 1% thereafter. Two other states, Georgia and Iowa, are considering taxes that may have a wider scope by taxing not just remittances but also other transfers. See Mohr (2016)). ..."

Why taxing remittances is a bad idea | People Move
 
phattonez said:
Many immigrants (and their children) in the United States send money to relatives in foreign countries. Highlighted in the image below are some of the amounts sent to Latin American countries.

pew_remittances_latin_america_2013.png


These are significant amounts that these countries are receiving. Many of these countries are highly dependent on these resources. Remittances to El Salvador, for instance, account for nearly 17% of her GDP.

How much are Americans sending overseas? In 2012, the amount was $120 billion.

Given the limited usefulness of this to Americans, the fact that foreign labor is already undercutting American employment, and that many foreign 3rd world countries are dependent on this money (and neglecting to build up their own economies as a result), ought we tax these payments to discourage such transfers?
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I couldn't answer your poll because it is too broad.

On one hand, I don't think we should tax ALL remittance payments. On the other hand, I think we should tax remittance payments if they are being made by illegal aliens.
 
phattonez said:
Many immigrants (and their children) in the United States send money to relatives in foreign countries. Highlighted in the image below are some of the amounts sent to Latin American countries.



These are significant amounts that these countries are receiving. Many of these countries are highly dependent on these resources. Remittances to El Salvador, for instance, account for nearly 17% of her GDP.

How much are Americans sending overseas? In 2012, the amount was $120 billion.

Given the limited usefulness of this to Americans, the fact that foreign labor is already undercutting American employment, and that many foreign 3rd world countries are dependent on this money (and neglecting to build up their own economies as a result), ought we tax these payments to discourage such transfers?
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Assuming it was legally earned, its already been taxed. This is more an argument for not letting in immigrants who are not helping our economy as much as an american might by keeping the money here. And no, its not the same as buying something from China. Thats an exchange. A remittance has no exchange.

Also its 582bn as of 2015

Remittance Flows Worldwide in 2015 | Pew Research Center
 
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