do undocumented immigrants pay taxes?

Hot topics are always around us. When I listen to people debating various issues and using sound bites here and there, I always want to pause and figure why someone is saying what they are saying in the way they are saying it. I am going to check out sound bites of various issues and then give an observation.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to defend or critique any of these positions. I just want to make the process clearer.

Sound bite:

Illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes.

First, obviously taxes are paid with every purchase made in places that have sales tax. Taxes are paid on any gasoline, cigarettes, or liquor, etc.

Second, because the government requires employers to withdraw taxes from employees checks, undocumented workers have social security taken out in these cases. They use fictitious tax ID numbers. This is currently bringing in approximately 7 billion dollars a year into Social Security. The irony, of course, is the worker will not see a dime of this when he/she retires.

Third, there is an IRS tax number program where undocumented workers can pay taxes. I could only find the latest study on the net concerning this program from 2001. That year in this program there were 366,000 tax returns on 7 billion dollars of wages, and 305 million dollars in taxes paid.

Now there are arguments about the ethics of using fictitious numbers, the amount of government money that goes out to undocumented immigrants and the rest. I am only addressing the specific claim made above.