The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has put up a website giving what it calls “10 Immigration Facts Everyone Can Agree To.” The so-called facts are both falsehoods and half-truths. Here is their #6:
U.S. Chamber’s Myth: “Undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes.”
U.S. Chamber’s Fact: “Undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars in taxes every year.”
FAIR’s Fact:
It’s hard to escape taxes even if you live in a no-sales-tax state like Oregon. But that is not the point. Rather the issue is whether taxes paid by illegal aliens approach the cost of the services that they access. Our fiscal cost studies have found that the fiscal costs to state and local communities for the services used by illegal aliens exceed taxes collected by about 21 to 1. Remember that illegal aliens are often sharing living accommodations, have little disposable income, and generally do not have income levels that result in an income tax liability. They are usually filing tax returns only if they are posing as legal workers and are applying to get withheld taxes returned and/or to qualify for tax credits