Hi to all,
This is my first post. I've been lurking & enjoying the NBS forums for a while. You have a great site. I thought this thread could benefit from another point of view. I think this issue is more complex than many people realize... & I like the way many illegals use Coke cans for spinning reels!
The following quote is from Wikipedia.org a well respected web resource.
The Economic impact of illegal immigrants in the United States depends on whether taxes paid by illegal immigrants and their contributions to the economy make up for the government services which they use, as well as the economic input of the immigrants themselves and the cost of externalities such as added strain on public health that they may add. Those who find that immigrants, including illegal immigrants, produce a negative effect on the US economy often focus on the difference between taxes paid and government services received, while those who find positive economics effects focus on added productivity and lower costs to consumers for certain goods and services. Economists themselves overwhelmingly view immigration, including illegal immigration as a positive for the economy.
Taxation
Chapman College law professor Francine Lipman writes in a 2006 paper in the journal Tax Lawyer of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation that the belief that undocumented migrants are exploiting the U.S. economy and cost more in services than they contribute to the economy is "undeniably false". Lipman asserts that "undocumented immigrants actually contribute more to public coffers in taxes than they cost in social services" and "contribute to the U.S. economy through their investments and consumption of goods and services; filling of millions of essential worker positions resulting in subsidiary job creation, increased productivity and lower costs of goods and services; and unrequited contributions to Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance programs."
The Irs issues an Individual tax payer id number (ITIN) regardless of immigration status because both resident and nonresident aliens may have Federal tax return and payment responsibilities under The IRS Federal tax law prohibits the IRS from sharing data with other government agencies including the IN. In 2006 1.4 million people used ITIN when filing taxes, of which more than half were illegal aliens.
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Ths is Al again... not Wikipedia... the full article give examples of both negative and positive economic impacts of illegal immigration. I chose the taxation section for its positive slant.
What do you think?
Al |