DREAM Team LA along with UndocuMedia and the DRM Coalition is announcing the launch of the national campaign, #WePayTaxesToo
Undocumented youth activist, Belen, started an internet sensation when she posted her tax returns to draw attention to the fact that undocumented immigrants pay taxes. Studies show that undocumented immigrants pay $12 billion dollars each year in local, state, and federal taxes. Everything from sales, to property, to income taxes. We also want to call out President Trump who refuses to release HIS tax returns.
Watch this Fusion video
Taxation Without Documentation, for information on taxes paid by undocumented immigrants. #NotTooIllegalForTheIRS
“The IRS doesn’t care if I’m undocumented or not.”
Undocumented workers pay $13 billion in U.S. taxes each year––and in turn they’re denied basic human rights.
Step 1: File your federal taxes.
Step 2: Take a selfie holding your returns. (Mask or hide sensitive information).
Step 3: Post to your social media choosing from the following hashtags. (Optional: Include how much you paid in taxes.)
#WePayTaxesToo
#NotTooIllegalForTheIRS
#UndocuTaxes
#ShowMeYoursTrump
#HereToStay
Step 4: Send a copy of your selfie to media@dreamteamla.org and we’ll post it here too.
Undocutax Facts
In the five years that Deferred Action (DACA) has been in place, the almost 800,000 DACA recipients have paid over $20 billion dollars in state and federal taxes.
By law, all workers must pay federal taxes, even undocumented workers. The IRS keeps a “Mismatch” or “Suspense” fund where taxes are collected against Social Security numbers that don’t match a number on record. (This happens when numbers are made up). The estimated seven million undocumented workers pay over $7 billion dollars into the Social Security mismatch fund each year. Social Security benefits they will never receive.
In addition to the undocumented workers paying into the Social Security Suspense fund an additional three million undocumented workers file using IRS issued ITIN numbers. (Individual Tax Identification Numbers). The IRS issues these numbers to people regardless of their immigration status in order for them to comply with federal tax filing regulations. These three million workers contribute almost $5 billion dollars into the Social Security fund each year. Contributing to a program then can never participate in.
Bottom line, undocumented workers subsidize the Social Security program by billions of dollars each year.
