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Estimates of Taxes Paid by Undocumented Immigrants

Estimates of Taxes Paid by Undocumented Immigrants The generally-held belief that undocumented immigrants pay no income tax is generally incorrect. The fact is that many undocumented immigrants find ways to pay both federal income and payroll taxes even though they might not have a Social Security number and even if they are working illegally. According to estimates by the nonpartisan American Immigration Council, households headed by illegal immigrants paid a combined $11.2 billion in state and local taxes during 2010. Based on estimates compiled by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, the American Immigration Council reported that the $11.2 billion in taxes paid by illegal immigrants in 2010 included $8.4 billion in sales taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes and $1.2 billion in state personal income taxes. In spite of the fact that they lack legal status, these immigrants and their family members are adding value to the U.S. economy; not only as taxpayers, but as workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs as well, states the  American Immigration Council. Why Would an Undocumented Immigrant Pay Taxes? While it is true that many undocumented immigrants who are illegally paid â€Å"under the table,† for their work do not pay taxes on their income, many others choose to pay income tax hoping that doing so will eventually become American citizens. While evidence for this is largely anecdotal, several attempts at comprehensive immigration reform legislation over the last decade, including S.744- the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, have contained provisions listing attributes such as â€Å"good moral character† and â€Å"paying back taxes† as requirements for obtaining citizenship. Should such an immigration reform bill ever become law, undocumented immigrants could use a provable history of paying taxes as one way to show good faith and moral character.   Which States Got the Most? According to the American Immigration Council, California led all states in taxes from households headed by undocumented immigrants, at $2.7 billion in 2010. Other states gleaning significant revenue from taxes paid by illegal immigrants included Texas ($1.6 billion), Florida ($806.8 million), New York ($662.4 million), and Illinois ($499.2 million).Note: While California may have realized $2.7 billion from taxes paid by undocumented  immigrants in 2010, a 2004 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform showed that California spends over $10.5 billion annually on the education, health care and incarceration of its illegal immigrant population. Where Did They Get These Figures? In coming up with its estimate of $11.2 billion in annual taxes paid by undocumented  immigrants, the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy say it relied on: 1) an estimate of each states unauthorized population; 2) the average family income for unauthorized immigrants, and 3) state-specific tax payments.Estimates of the undocumented  or unauthorized population of each state came from the Pew Hispanic Center and Census 2010. According to the Pew Center, an estimated 11.2 million undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S. during 2010. The average annual income for households headed by an illegal alien was estimated at $36,000, of which about 10% is sent to support family members in countries of origin. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the American Immigration Council  assume  undocumented immigrants actually pay these taxes because: Sales tax is automatic, so it is assumed that unauthorized residents would pay sales tax at similar rates to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants with similar income levels. Similar to sales tax, property taxes are hard to avoid, and unauthorized immigrants are assumed to pay the same property taxes as others with the same income level. ITEP assumes that most unauthorized immigrants are renters, and only calculates the taxes paid by renters. Income tax contributions by the unauthorized population are less comparable to other populations because many unauthorized immigrants work off the books and income taxes are not automatically withheld from their paychecks. ITEP conservatively estimates that 50 percent of unauthorized immigrants are paying income taxes. But One Big Disclaimer Looms There is no question that undocumented  immigrants do pay some taxes. As the American Immigration Council  correctly points out, sales taxes and property taxes as a component of rent are basically unavoidable, no matter a persons citizenship status. However, when the U.S. Census Bureau so emphatically states that illegal immigrants are the most difficult individuals for them to locate and count in the decennial census, any figure as elusive as the total taxes they pay must be considered a very rough estimate. In fact, the  American Immigration Council acknowledges this fact by adding the following disclaimer:Of course, it is difficult to know precisely how much these families pay in taxes because the spending and income behavior of these families is not as well documented as is the case for U.S. citizens. But these estimates represent a sensible best approximation of the taxes these families likely pay.

Litigation, Civil Procedure, Discovery of Documents Essay

Litigation, Civil Procedure, Discovery of Documents - Essay Example The client company, over the last decade, has obtained reports and studies which confirm that there is a link between the toxic fumes and the increasing rate of asthma in the local residence. The problem concerns to devise a strategy so these reports and documents may not be not available to the plaintiff. STRATEGY: As evident from the above problem, the main concern of the company is that these reports and documents should not be available to the plaintiff for proving the allegation against the company. This can be done by adopting the strategy of ‘Retention of the Documents’ and by the privilege. The case of Rolah Ann McCabe v British American Tobacco Australia can serve as a guideline to adopt these strategies as the said case demonstrated successfully that through these strategies documents harmful to the company mighty be retained (destroyed) or declared privileged so the plaintiff or the court may not require these documents to exhibit for inspection, to avoid any legal ruling. These policies are discussed below separately to view their implications and results. Let us begin with examining the case of McCabe v. BATAS in brief and the strategies adopted. Rolah Ann McCabe v British American Tobacco Australia: The fifty-one year old plaintiff had lung cancer which she alleged had been caused by smoking the defendant’s cigarettes over approximately four decades. She sued the defendant for damages arising from the defendant’s negligence related to the marketing and sale of their cigarettes. The trial judge ordered that the defence of the defendant tobacco company be struck out and that judgment be entered for the plaintiff. He criticized the defendant for its failure to comply with discovery orders that had been made during the proceeding. BAT was unable to comply with this court order to produce documents because it had over a period of years prior to Mrs. McCabes’s action destroyed large quantities of documents.

Activist Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Activist Letter - Essay Example This moisture brings about the cooling effect on the earth surface. In brief, these mean that chop the trees off and raise the global temperatures. If the global temperature increases then there will be a percentage increase of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Trees regulate the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by utilizing it during photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide level has consequently accumulated to alarming levels due to tree falling. Large amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere deplete the ozone layer (Prout, Tanya and Daniel 172). The harmful ultraviolet sun rays, therefore, reach the ground thus causing skin cancer. Trees are known to provide a cheap source of energy. Charcoal and firewood is mostly used by people in most part of the world to provide energy. Industries and local homes benefit from this as coal, and petroleum products seem to be expensive compared to tree products. Once one tree is brought down, it should be a must for it to be replaced by planting another tree. Failure to do that, it will result in the decline in biodiversity or it may cause an extinction of many species. Even those using trees as sources of energy will find it hard if trees are cut and not replaced. Down of microbial community are exposed and killed by the adverse weather caused by cutting down of trees, hence bacteria’s helps in recycling nutrients that might pollute water and render it unclean for drinking In conclusion, if the biodiversity of this earth is to be maintained then let the trees are protected and conserved. It is as if every living thing on earth depends on trees for clean air, water and as energy sources just to name a

NDT Robotic Technology

NDT Robotic Technology

The Necessity of Defined Boundaries in Nursing

What the Hippocratic Oath is to physicians, the Nightingale Pledge is to nurses. The very essence of this pledge needs to be maintained today as it was intended to be when it was first used on a graduating nursing class in 1893 Detroit (Wikipedia, 2007). Its importance is not to be understated – its meaning not to be devalued. For any nurse in a leadership position, it is necessary to engrain this pledge in one’s mind, rather than just repeat it for the sake of a certificate.With this engrained mentality, the managing nurse will possess the capacity to effectively implement this dogma into the minds and lives of young nurses. The Nightingale Pledge is symbolic of the more general concept of nursing boundary theory. The American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Medical Association (AMA), the state and national governments of the United States, every university with a nursing program, as well as every nurse and physician all have well-founded interests in defining b oundaries that represent ethical and safe behaviors concerning nurses (Holder, 2007).As the world, specifically the US, continues to rely more and more on healthcare provision, it is unavoidable that some loss of integrity concerning the quality of nurses in general will occur. Young nursing students are not always as true-hearted about the profession as was the lovely Miss Nightingale. They may be drawn to the profession for a well known variety of other reasons including handsome salaries and constant, versatile demand for services. This precisely why the senior nursing staff must actively attempt to preserve the integrity of each nurse and thereby the entire profession.The question then becomes how to do it; how to instill the solid and earnest concepts presented in the Nightingale Pledge into the minds and hearts of budding nurses. Education is the key (Wikipedia, 2007). As a leader, a managing nurse may initiate continuing educational services for the nursing staff. Programs th at reinforce the foundations of nursing can be offered in a variety of formats. There are no rules for creative presentation. Five minutes at every staff meeting could be dedicated to boundary discussions, for instance. Staff emails could be sent regularly presenting a boundary â€Å"tip of the day†.Colorful and inviting flyers could be posted on the walls of staff break areas if nothing else. The importance lies in the transference of the knowledge; in the sowing of the seeds of Nightingale. The managing nurse, and every nurse, should strive to uphold personal integrity levels as well as preserving the time-tested, well-earned respect for the world’s most caring profession: Nursing (Holder, 2007). As time goes on, nursing careers will progress in all areas and in all directions. A certain percentage of nurses will graduate for the wrong reasons; this is unavoidable.With the necessary components of preservation activated and consistently engaged, the managing nurse can serve as one vehicle for the transference of this philosophy of care giving. It can be shown to young nurses that the gifts that they give daily to their patients and humankind in general are by far more valuable than the profession’s more obvious perks. Nurses need to develop a sense of family with all other nurses in the world (Holder, 2007). There needs to be common bonds inherit in all nurses. They must have a sense of community.The continuation of efforts to uphold the high moral and ethical standards, such as those presented in the Nightingale Pledge, are integral to the future of nursing worldwide. Bibliography/References Holder, K. & Schenthal, Stephen. (2007, Feb 13). Watch Your Step: Nursing and Professional Boundries. Retrieved Feb 10, 2007, from Nursing Center: http://www. nursingcenter. com/library/JournalArticle. asp? Article_ID=696090 Wikipedia. (2007, Feb 13). Nightingale Pledge. Retrieved Feb 10, 2007, from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia: http://en. wikipe dia. org/w/index. php? title=Special:Cite&page=Nightingale_Pledge&id=100440708

Would Life in the State of Nature Be Intolerable as Hobbes?

Would life in the State of Nature be intolerable as Hobbes and Locke believe? The state of nature is described as a primitive state untouched by civilization; it is the condition before the rule of law and is therefore a synonym of Anarchy. Anarchy means without government, anarchist thought is the conviction that existing forms of government are productive of wars, internal violence, repression and misery. Hobbes political philosophy considers what the life of man would be like without the state; of which is described as ‘brutish, short and nasty. ’ This view strongly contrasts with the utopian elements in anarchist thought.The Leviathan, which is an archetypal statement of the need for strong government equates anarchy with violence and disorder. The complexity of political ideas generated by both philosophies can be examined and contrasted against one another; to generate an opposite consistent anarchist inversion of Hobbism thought that justifies life in a state of n ature that is not insufferable. Hobbes explores the logic of a situation in which human nature predisposes men to act in certain ways, and there is no superior power to stop them from warring with each other (Sorrel, 1996).Therefore in the state of nature there is no economic prosperity, as this depends on security and co-operation, no scientific knowledge ‘ no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all continual fear and danger of violent death’( Leviathan 82) This is an intense and extreme depiction of what life would be like with no government at all. Superimposed on this are images of a partial state of nature resulting from the breakdown of central government, or civil war, the realistic dangers Hobbes is trying to avert ( Gauthier, 1969)Hobbes abstract justification for government rests on the legalistic fiction of the social contract. The contract is created between two individuals motivated to set up a government because of the miseries they endure in the state of nature of which there is no stable social organisation (Sorrel, 1986). Hobbes rationalises that individuals driven by fear and in search of peace would all come together to draw up a peace treaty, and simultaneously set up a sovereign in order to ensure that the promise is attained. Hobbes shows that it is in the interest of the people to live under a strong overnment, and therefore one should act in a way as to maintain the existing government (Sorrel, 1986). Moral obligation and its involvement in legal practice is something that is used to conclude that government is necessary, useful and has legitimate authority. In comparison, the anarchist William Godwin replied to the notion of an original contract by constructing a rational anarchist philosophy. He pertained that contracts were not between the fictitious entity the ‘people’ and the government, but between specific individuals (Woodcock, 1977).Godwin’s society would not be built In an assum ed past as Hobbes was, but on series of mutually and constantly renewed compacts between freely contracting individuals, permanent contracts such as marriage were seen as an infringement of freedom: this theory was based on the principle of justice in anarchist thought ( Nozick, 2006) The impact of Hobbes theory is based on the evocation of violence, fears and chaos which ensues without the role of the government to enforce law.If theses notions are ‘reversed, it can be argued that men are by nature, when uncorrupted by the perverting influence of the government and evil societies, peace loving and activated by spontaneous sympathy towards others’ ( Nozick, 2006) Therefore the logic of the situation is reversed; Government now ceases to be the protector of the individual and a guarantor of their lives and property. Instead ‘the state is seen as a chief threat to liberty, security and prosperity of the individual, whom it circumscribes with laws and regulationsâ₠¬â„¢ ( Rotberg, 2004) Hobbes did concede that governments might harm their subjects’ (Gauthier, 1969) but retained that this harm would ensue a lot less damage compared to the horror inflicted upon man in a state of war and calamity as in an anarchist society. Anarchists like Godwin and Tolstoy believed that governments are responsible for the greatest crimes, and promote devastating wars between states ( Ferrel, 2001). It is of course an over simplification that to say that anarchists believe men are always naturally coercive and peaceable, just as it is misleading to suggest that Hobbes thought all men were competitive and vainglorious .The anarchists conclude that government is a great and unnecessary evil, and that anarchy in the literal sense of no government need not mean anarchy in the popular sense of violence and disorder (Bain, 1967) . ‘The most basic element common to both theoretical frameworks is the assumption that social analysis begins with the individua l, his personal desires and wishes’ (Ferrel, 2001) rather than with the society as a whole; political conclusions are based on an individualist position. Hobbes defines freedom as the absence of external constraints on the individual.The need for a strong government to prevent civil war can be replaced with the government’s priority to promote a natural harmony of interests. ‘The restrictive role of the state is reduced to a minimum, and the logical consequence is a laissez faire liberalism in which there is a belief in the role of the state in maintaining internal peace, and providing defence against external enemies’ (Woodcock, 1977). If this brand of liberalism is taken to its logical extreme what results, is a kind of laissez faire anarchism postulating a natural harmony of interests in all spheres of social life. Woodcock, 1977) This is a conception of individual freedom that can be attained in a state of nature that is accepted by Hobbes. Although he does not believe in overriding the rights of the government, he espouses radical egalitarianism ( Gauthier,1969) . The equality of all men is a notion that is pertained in order to deny the nobility of the privileged, and hence disruptive status within the realm; all men are equally obliged to obey the sovereign ( Sorrel, 1996) The basic sense of equality against all men in the state of nature is necessary if all men are to live under a sovereign.He refutes the idea that some sections of humanity are naturally superior to others, the aristocracy are not superior by nature, but by social convention; women are not inferior by nature but by family convention. ( Sorrel, 1986) .In Godwin’s theory of justice it is understood that all men and women are morally equal, therefore justice demands they should be socially and economically equal. Therefore in a state of nature of which all men are equal, there would be no need for any civil war, as no man is above another nor has the auth ority to claim war against any fellow man (Woodcock, 1977)Hobbes psychological outlook on the nature of man is similar to an anarchist libertarian approach. The pleasures of life, especially sex, are viewed as passionate desire of man which should not be denied (Bain, 1967). There is no hierarchy of higher and lower passions, man is perceived as a machine motivated by a succession of desires: this view is subversive of social taboos and social morality (Gauthier, 1969). A belief in the fulfilment of mans natural desires can be turned into a positive plea to encourage individuals to satisfy their desires and find happiness (Ferrel, 2001).This could be achieved in a state of nature governed by anarchist thought, it is a position that would serve man well and allow them personal freedom against the walls of repression produced under the laws of government. Another direct assessment can be proposed regarding the outlook of law between the two contrasting philosophies. For Hobbes the law is defined as the will and authority of the sovereign, and is not due to the law of nature or the principles of natural justice.If the legitimacy of the sovereign’s authority is denied then so is the legitimacy of the law (Rotberg, 2004) . If one believes in independent standards of justice and morality; as do anarchists, existing laws can be judged as morally unjust. Moreover if government in itself is an evil then the laws propagated by the governments are not only coercive restrictions on individual liberty, but an intolerable form of coercion (Nozick, 2006) In conclusion, life in the state of nature would not be an unbearable way to live.There is a possibility that man may live harmoniously without the need of government to restrain them; as they are able to direct their passions and desires using a sense of rationality. The use of government has an inverse effect on society which causes corruption and creates wars with the use of individual power and authority. Hobbes s eems to be describing a society of beasts in anarchy after the disturbing influences of the state has been removed, after which people are unaware of the natural laws of equality of which they should live by. References Woodcock, George, (1977) The Anarchist Reader, chpt7 †¢ Ferrel, Jeff, (2001) Tearing Down The Streets; Adventures in Urban Anarchy, chpt 5, 2, 1 †¢ Nozick, Robert, ( 2006) Anarchy State and Utopia, chpt 2, 5 †¢ Rotberg, Robert, ( 2004) When States Fail; Causes and Consequences, chpt 4 †¢ Bain, William, ( 1967) Between Anarchy and Society chpt 1, 2, 3 †¢ Gauthier, David, ( 1969) The Logic of Leviathan, chpt 1, 2, 5 †¢ Sorrel, Tom, ( 1986) The Arguments Of Philosophies, chpt 8, 11 †¢ Sorrel, Tom ( 1996) Cambridge Companion to Hobbes, chpt 9 chpt = Chapter