Legislation addresses costs of immigrants

Feds would get tax payment minus fees

By HOWARD FISCHER
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
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    Unable to get the federal government to pick up the state’s costs of illegal immigration, the Senate Finance Committee voted Thursday for a little bit of self-help: Take possession of what Arizona taxpayers are supposed to pay Uncle Sam.
   Under the terms of SB1459, Arizonans would continue to fill out their federal tax returns and file them with the Internal Revenue Service. But the legislation then requires the actual check to be made payable — and mailed — to the state Department of Revenue.
   It would then be up to state tax officials to figure out what costs the state has incurred due to the presence of people illegally in this country.
   And only after deducting that would the balance be forwarded to the federal government.
   “Obviously the federal government will have a problem with this,’’ said Sen. Dean Martin, R-Phoenix. “That’s the whole point.’’
   Martin, who crafted the bill and heads the committee, said the move will finally get the attention of the federal government to either do a better job of sealing the border or compensate Arizona for the costs.
   Those costs range from public education, which the state is required to provide without regard to the legal status of the child, to welfare, law enforcement and prison expenses.
   “Hopefully this will be the Boston Tea Party of the 21st century,’’ he said.
   Given that the federal government does not like being paid late — or not at all — the legislation also includes a provision that it will pay any interest or penalties that the IRS imposes against individuals and corporations.
   Sen. Ken Cheuvront, DPhoenix, agreed that Washington is not paying its share. But in voting against the measure, he said that last provision shows the legislation is unworkable: Penalties and the cost of defending Arizona taxpayers will eat up far more than anything the state gets to keep.
   How fiscally practical Martin’s proposal would be, assuming it were to become law, is less than clear. On paper, there should be plenty of cash to seize: IRS figures show Arizonans paid more than $25 billion in 2004, the most recent figures available.
   But most of that comes from the regular withholding, with three out of four taxpayers actually seeking a refund when they file their annual returns.
   Thursday’s 5-3 vote sends the measure to the full Senate.

Dean Martin