Immigration and Taxes
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blog September 16, 2024 Trump’s Plan to Vaporize the Economy Through Mass Deportation
This op-ed originally appeared in the Boston Globe. What would happen if 22 percent of America’s farmworkers vanished from the workforce? Would workers from across the country flock to the… -
map August 1, 2024 State and Local Tax Contributions by Undocumented Immigrants
Undocumented immigrants pay taxes that help fund public infrastructure, institutions, and services in every U.S. state. Nearly 39 percent of the total tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants in 2022 ($37.3 billion) went to state and local governments.
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report July 30, 2024 Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants
Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Providing access to work authorization for undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions both because their wages would rise and because their rates of tax compliance would increase.
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report July 17, 2024 Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive
Undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes but don’t have a valid Social Security number for either themselves or their children are excluded from federal EITC and CTC benefits. Fortunately, several states have stepped in to ensure undocumented immigrants are not left behind by the gaps in the federal EITC and CTC. State lawmakers should continue to ensure that immigrants who are otherwise eligible for these tax credits receive them.
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media mention February 12, 2024 Semafor: Immigration ‘Will Boost US Economy by $7 Trillion’ Over Next Decade
The ongoing surge of immigration to the United States will boost its economy by $7 trillion over the next decade by expanding the labor force and increasing consumer demand, a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found.
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blog July 7, 2021 Congress Should Follow States’ Lead on Inclusive Economic Recovery
President Joe Biden’s American Families and Jobs plans intend to “build back better” and create a more inclusive economy. To fully live up to this ideal, the final plan must include undocumented people and their families.
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brief June 17, 2021 ITIN Filer Data Gap: How Changing Laws, Lack of Data Disaggregation Limit Inclusive Tax Policy
Like U.S. citizens, noncitizens who live, work, or invest in the United States must file local, state and federal taxes. But in order to file personal income taxes, they must first be issued a processing number called an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) by the IRS. These numbers are issued to both legal permanent residents and nonresidents who are not eligible for Social Security numbers. ITINs do not imply immigration status, nor can they be used for immigration enforcement purposes, but they can be used to create burdensome barriers that make it difficult for ITIN holders to file taxes and to impose additional eligibility restrictions on benefits that exclude ITIN filers. The time is now to focus on integrating all ITIN filers, regardless of immigration status, into our tax policies. But a lack of information on the ITIN population creates large gaps in our understanding of these filers and the role they play in the U.S. tax system.
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blog April 27, 2021 Inclusive Child Tax Credit Reform Would Restore Benefit to 1 Million Young ‘Dreamers’
As the Biden administration maps out the next steps in America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic—through what is now being called the American Families Plan—it should make sure a proposed expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) includes undocumented children who have largely been left out of federal relief packages this past year. Prior to 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, all children regardless of their immigration status received the credit as long as their parents met the income eligibility requirements. This change essentially excluded around 1 million children and their families.
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blog June 26, 2020 Beyond SCOTUS: States Recognize Need for More Inclusive Immigrant Policy
The U.S. Supreme Court last week halted an effort by the Trump administration that would have stripped DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients of their lawful status in the… -
ITEP Work in Action May 14, 2020 Fiscal Policy Institute: Unemployment Insurance Taxes Paid for Undocumented Workers in NYS
In the midst of a pandemic, there has been a growing call for undocumented immigrants, who make up five percent of the New York State labor force, to be covered… -
blog April 17, 2020 Morally and Economically, Including Undocumented Immigrants Is the Right Thing to Do
Undocumented immigrants pay taxes and play an integral part in the social and economic welfare of our country, yet Congress left them almost entirely out of the CARES Act package. Fortunately, immigrants, workers and their allies are helping policymakers advance better policy approaches.
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ITEP Work in Action October 25, 2018 Oregon Center for Public Policy: Measure 105 Would Set Oregon Back
Immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, give the economy a boost. In Marion County alone, undocumented immigrants pay more than $14 million in taxes every year to local and state… -
ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2018 Oregon Center for Public Policy: Undocumented Workers in Multnomah County Pay Millions in Oregon Taxes
An estimated 27,000 undocumented Multnomah County residents pay nearly $19 million annually in state and local taxes. For perspective, that is enough to hire 217 teachers. Read more here -
ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2018 Oregon Center for Public Policy: Undocumented Workers in Washington County Pay Millions in Oregon Taxes
An estimated 27,000 undocumented Washington County residents pay more than $20 million annually in state and local taxes. For perspective, that is enough to hire 232 teachers. Read more here -
ITEP Work in Action October 17, 2018 Oregon Center for Public Policy: Undocumented Workers in Marion County Pay Millions in Oregon Taxes
An estimated 18,000 undocumented Marion County residents pay nearly $14 million annually in state and local taxes. For perspective, $14 million is enough to hire 157 teachers. Read more here -
ITEP Work in Action June 13, 2018 Oklahoma Policy Institute: On Immigration Rhetoric, Consider the Facts
These undocumented Oklahomans currently contribute about $85 million in state and local taxes per year, according to our best estimates. They pay sales tax directly when they purchase goods and… -
ITEP Work in Action June 8, 2018 Oklahoma Policy Institute: To Improve Public Safety and Insurance rates, Allow Undocumented Oklahomans to Drive Legally
Oklahoma’s approximately 95,000 undocumented immigrants are a force in Oklahoma’s economy, accounting for about 1 in 30 members of the workforce and contributing roughly $85 million in state and local… -
ITEP Work in Action June 5, 2018 Center for American Progress: The 7 States Suing to End DACA Would Be Harmed by a Victory in Court
Through their employment, DACA recipients are contributors to their localities and states as wage earners and taxpayers. A 2017 state-by-state study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed… -
ITEP Work in Action May 15, 2018 New Jersey Policy Perspectives: DACA Recipients Contribute $59 Million Per Year in Taxes
The ITEP study found that New Jersey’s young immigrants eligible for DACA contribute $59 million in state and local taxes each year, the seventh highest level of all fifty states.… -
blog May 4, 2018 In the Face of the Trump Administration’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda, We Must Rely on Evidence to Highlight the Contributions of and Dispel Myths About Dreamers
Immigrants face tremendous uncertainty and little hope under the Trump Administration. The administration’s actions—banning travel from residents of primarily Muslim countries, the deportation of Christian Iraqi asylum seekers, and the… -
report April 30, 2018 State & Local Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants
This report specifically examines the state and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants who are currently enrolled or immediately eligible for DACA and the fiscal implications of various policy changes. The report includes information on the national impact (Chart 1) and provides a state-by-state breakdown (Appendices 1 and 2).
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ITEP Work in Action April 16, 2018 New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes: County Breakdown of Taxes Paid
While undocumented immigrants in New Jersey now face greater threats from the federal government than ever before, new data at the state and county level released by the Institute on… -
ITEP Work in Action March 9, 2018 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: All Georgians Stand to Lose from Immigrant Crackdown Measure
And Georgia immigrants contribute significant state and local tax revenue, including $352 million a year by undocumented immigrants as a whole and $66 million by Dreamers in particular. Read more… -
ITEP Work in Action February 7, 2018 Kansas Center for Economic Growth: New American immigrants in Kansas strengthen the economy
A recent report from the Institute of Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows how undocumented immigrants in Kansas demonstrate their commitment to our state and increase state revenue through the… -
ITEP Work in Action February 7, 2018 Kansas Center for Economic Growth: New American Immigrants in Kansas Strengthen the Economy
Currently, undocumented immigrants residing in Kansas pay nearly $68 million a year in state and local taxes. By granting undocumented immigrants full and legal status, Kansas could receive an additional…