Edwin Rubenstein, an economic consultant
in Indianapolis, has come up with
a novel solution to the illegal immigration
problem. Noting that economists
have long held that you get more of what
you subsidize and less of what you tax,
he suggests taxing illegal aliens?or at
least the remittances they send home.
There were $32 billion in remittances to
Latin America in 2002, a third of which
went to Mexico. Six million Hispanics
regularly send money home, using banks
and wire service companies, resulting in
at least 70 million such transactions a
year. Taxing them could be as simple as
collecting a sales tax. The money collected
could then be used to offset the
cost of providing medical services and
education to illegals and their children.
But more importantly, a tax on remittances
would discourage immigrants. As Mr.
Rubenstein says, ?Tax them and they will
go away.? [Edwin S. Rubenstein, A Supply-
Side Solution For Illegal Immigration,
VDare.com, Jan.26, 2004.]
in Indianapolis, has come up with
a novel solution to the illegal immigration
problem. Noting that economists
have long held that you get more of what
you subsidize and less of what you tax,
he suggests taxing illegal aliens?or at
least the remittances they send home.
There were $32 billion in remittances to
Latin America in 2002, a third of which
went to Mexico. Six million Hispanics
regularly send money home, using banks
and wire service companies, resulting in
at least 70 million such transactions a
year. Taxing them could be as simple as
collecting a sales tax. The money collected
could then be used to offset the
cost of providing medical services and
education to illegals and their children.
But more importantly, a tax on remittances
would discourage immigrants. As Mr.
Rubenstein says, ?Tax them and they will
go away.? [Edwin S. Rubenstein, A Supply-
Side Solution For Illegal Immigration,
VDare.com, Jan.26, 2004.]
