California accommodates nearly 25 percent of the country’s undocumented immigrants and deserves help in managing the issues inherent in their care and wellbeing. Taxpayers have shouldered the burden, when it shouldn’t have been theirs to bear.
Clearly, the two groups responsible for our immigration debacle are the immigrants who come here illegally to work, and the roughly 20 million employers who hire them illegally. Both parties need to be part of the solution, but lawmakers ignore the connection and focus on just the immigrants.
There is a third way — a reasonable solution that relieves taxpayers and brings freedom and security to undocumented immigrant families and their employers. A 10 year renewable Special Work Permit that can be acquired by obeying our laws and contributing a nickel of every dollar of wages earned will fix the problem. This small amount, when coupled with a matching amount from employers, will generate $167 billion over 10 years (this does not include visa overstays) while creating 1.3 new American jobs.
Washington is polarized, which incentivized the development of a budget. We’ve outlined how Californians could best spend their $37.5 billion of new revenue. Under education alone, we could reduce class sizes, support trade schools to help re—train veterans, reinstate enrichment programs, subsidize meals for students and hire bi—lingual educators. The budget also includes healthcare needs, which covers medical clinics, urgent care centers and mental health facilities. There is a bevy of additional immigrant issues provided for in the budget. The third way model also allocates funds for repairing our infrastructure and for border security.
The use of the permit will stop unwarranted deportations and splitting up of family units; allow immigrants to travel freely to and from their home of origin; authorize immigrants to apply for driver licenses (pursuant to individual state laws); and provide for a safe environment for families to assimilate and thrive.
Employers benefit from not having to worry about breaking the law and the accompanying fines, possible jail time, or losing their workforce to deportations. They will have contented, healthier employees, which leads to better work ethics. The simple tax will be easy to pay with current technological advantages; and government records, long overburdened with inaccurate information, ranging from stolen Social Security numbers to ongoing tax fraud, will be cleaned up.
My interest in taxes began in the late ‘50s with a report I prepared about a Soviet “turnover” tax designed to discourage the use of cigarettes and vodka. My passion grew throughout college and shortly after I graduated, I had an opportunity to work in the Intelligence Division of the Treasury Department as an IRS Special Agent.
In 2010, I gathered a team together that included a Rand economist and colleagues from the government, and formed a small think tank in Malibu called the Immigrant Tax Inquiry Group. We quickly learned of the billions lost annually in massive tax fraud because of poor tax policies. One example, the Individual Tax Identification Number program (ITIN), designed to allow those without documentation to file tax returns, cost U.S. taxpayers $5 billion annually.
The experience I gained with the IRS allowed me a different perspective when solving the most difficult challenge — how do you eliminate the tax fraud and balance the fiscal responsibility between the two factions benefitting from illegal immigration?
I have personally made several trips to The Hill, meeting with capitol staff to rally support, but to no avail. The current political climate disallows creative new ideas because there are too many “gatekeepers” surrounding the principals. Eventually, those in D.C. will understand that we are not going to deport 11 million people and that we need a solution. An amnesty will not be coming up anytime soon, so that leaves only one reasonable option — the third way. It can change society. It is a bi—partisan, compassionate solution that benefits all Americans and immigrants alike.
Mark Jason
Director of Immigrant Tax Inquiry Group
Longtime resident of Malibu
If you have questions, or would like to find out how you can help, please reach out: 310.456.2604, mjason@immigranttaxgroup.org immigranttaxgroup.org