GOP Proposes Remittance Tax, Mainly on Latinos, to Pay for Border Wall Jason Beaubien - NPR
go to original May 30, 2017

The World Bank estimates more than $133 billion in remittances were sent from the U.S. in 2015. A proposed remittance tax would apply to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (in dark green) as a way to fund a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. (Brittany Mayes/NPR)

One of President Trump's boldest, most ambitious proposals on the campaign trail was to build a wall along the Southern border and get Mexico to pay for it. Amid the tumult of Trump's first few months in office, the border wall hasn't gotten as much attention as some other things. But new legislation has been introduced in Congress to help fund it.



It's called the Border Wall Funding Act of 2017, introduced on March 30 by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala.

And it would put a 2 percent tax on all person-to-person wire transfers to Mexico, the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean.

It's not the only bill targeting remittances. An earlier proposal in the Senate, which didn't advance out of committee, would have placed a 7 percent "fine" on remittances unless the sender can prove he or she is in the U.S. legally.

It should be noted that these proposals would only apply to personal transfers and not to businesses moving money abroad to say, Mexico or the Cayman Islands.

As you might expect, people who send remittances are not happy.

... The World Bank has blasted the idea of these taxes, calling them a "bad idea." The World Bank says they hurt some of the poorest countries by reducing the inflow of desperately needed cash. In addition, a World Bank report on the subject last month says remittance taxes are difficult to administer.

Even if the taxes are put in place, the report notes, migrants are likely to find some other way to get their money sent without paying a tax.

Read the rest at NPR

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!