The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has told Senate members not to tax remittances nor include citizenship verification as part of the anticipated reconciliation bill. The FTA said that it was joined by six other associations asking the Senate not to “harm hardworking Americans, including active duty service members and Americans living, working, and studying abroad, and hinder our nation’s ability to fight transnational crime.”
The other signees of the letter were the American Fintech Council, Electronic Transactions Association, Financial Services Alliance, Innovative Payments Association, Money Services Roundtable, and Money Services Business Association.
The proposal would impose a 3.5% tax, paid by the sender, on all remittance transfers as defined by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
The letter includes quotes from the Cato Institute and American Enterprise Institute, bemoaning the expansion of government and invasion of privacy not to mention the cost of additional time and fees.
The letter is addressed to Senator Mike Crapo, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as the Ranking Member Senator Ron Wyden.
Penny Lee, President and CEO of the FTA, stated that the current proposal infringes on Americans’ civil liberties, while making it more difficult to combat transnational crime by encouraging cross-border payments to be routed through unregulated channels.
“We urge the Senate to remove this counterproductive and overreaching provision from the reconciliation bill …We should not be asking everyday Americans to hand over their sensitive personal information or pay a tax to send money to family serving overseas or studying abroad.”
The letter is available here.
