Irwine Clare, the managing director of the New York-based Caribbean Immigration Services, says he is not surprised by the US decision to propose changing legislation to tax remittances that are sent to nations such as Jamaica.
The aim of the US government is to use the tax to pay for the wall on the border of the US and Mexico, which was a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s election campaign last year, and which he still insists will be built to cut down on the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. Alabama Republican Congressman, Mike Rogers, introduced the Border Wall Funding Bill on 30 March.
The intention of the bill is to make amendments to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require a two percent charge on the US dollar value of all money sent to 44 countries, including Jamaica in Latin America. Clare says he is not surprised that the US is attempting to find another way to fund the construction of the border wall following Mexico’s outright rejection of the idea that they will pay for it, as Trump had insisted would be the case.
Clare added that, while the move will be opposed by Diaspora groups, it is unlikely that the opposition will be particularly strong. Bank of Jamaica data suggests that home-based Jamaicans were sent around $2 million in remittances last year from overseas.