do workers with H1-B visas pay taxes?

[TheFarseer]

I just read that since they are foreign nationals they don't pay income taxes, but I have to question this one. Does anyone know?

[Mass]

1. Of course, they do.

[TheFarseer]

5. I do taxes seasonally and I have never seen that

but it says in Lou Dobbs book in no uncertain terms that they do not. "Since they are not American citizens, they do not pay taxes here." I have to believe this claim is false. As bad as the H1-B visa situation is, it's not THAT bad.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. google clearly says that Dobbs is once again full of shit

H1-b visa holders pay income tax.

Dobbs is very angry about foreigners. I have no idea why. I think his job is probably safe. His anger causes him to lie with abandon.

[EFerrari]

8. I want to see Lou's tax return. Oh -- he's also a big liar.

Remember Amy Goodman caught him getting talking points and guests from a hate group?

First, he pretended he didn't remember.

Then, he pretended he didn't know.

Then, he pretended that it was just a one time thing.

Then, he got furious with Amy for playing "gotcha" journalism.

http://www.democracynow.org/2007/12/4/fact_checking_dobbs_cnn_anchor_lou

[mainegreen]

2. Everyone pays taxes.

Except corporations. Often they dont.

[Greyhound]

3. I thought they did, but have no specific knowledge one way or the other.

:kick:to see what comes up.:hi:

[MonkeyFunk]

4. It would seem to depend on various treaties

with various countries.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf

[TahitiNut]

6. *SOME* don't, but it has nothing directly to do with an H1-B visa.

First of all, such a visa is technically a non-immigrant visa. Thus, there may be no intention to become a permanent resident of the U.S. and the visa holder may have chosen to maintain a residence in another country, which MAY be the country in which they're a citizen - but not necessarily. They may have income in that (or another) country and that income (and their 'foreign' income in the U.S.) MAY be taxed to a degree that, due to treaty agreements and IRS rules, may reduce their tax exposure in the U.S. to nothing. There are other situations, even more complex, that may reduce their income tax to nothing as well ... but it is NOT a 'feature' of the H1-B visa.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

10. Feature of the visa or not, it still means that we aren't getting taxes from some of these workers

Taxes that we would be getting if it were American workers. This is a little-discussed consequence of outsourcing - loss of tax revenues.

[treestar]

13. The idea is that nobody would be in the job

And therefore, we would be getting taxes from nobody. That's the basis of having foreign workers, people need to quit lying about that, including Lou Dobbs. Read the statutes and the requirements for bringing them in, which are facts, rather than Lou Dobbs' rantings, which are only based on his fear and hatred.

Anyone here as an H-1B has a full time job and therefore, most of their income is here. Even if they had income abroad and had to pay taxes on it, any credit they get for it is written into our tax laws, probably as a concession to the fact that there are U.S. citizens who work abroad and are in a similar situation.

[TahitiNut]

17. The "idea" has become subterfuge ... a cover for trafficking in human labor.

Our "immigration system" has be contorted and gamed to the point that it's virtually nothing more than a system for trafficking in human labor. The foremost LOBBY affecting immigration laws and regulations is and has been corporations. That's where the money is. In both the letter of the laws and the spotty enforcement, it serves almost nothing other than treating human labor as a commodity.

[treestar]

23. enforcement of these laws is very difficult

but the bottom line is, H aliens are legally here, based on the concept that there are no US citizens to fill the jobs - if they weren't here, the employment incidental to their being here would not exist.

Also, the insistence that they not be here leads to outsourcing, which takes all the incidental jobs with it.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

29. Bullshit.

Here's a video where immigration attorneys show companies how to disqualify American workers in favor of H1B ones.

http://anti-union.blogspot.com/2008/02/offshoring-and-h1b-visa-abuse-1-2-punch.html

A good rule of thumb: If the plutocrats want it, it's probably not good for you and me, or people in other countries for that matter.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

18. The corporations claim that no one would be doing the jobs

And we know that corporations never lie. :sarcasm: I personally know people who were forced to train their H1B visa replacements before being laid off but they must have been imagining things. :eyes:

[treestar]

24. However, these people got other jobs

Probably higher up on the food chain, too.

They just think they could have made a higher salary had it not been for the H-1Bs.

The facts are: H-1bs are limited in number. So the stories about "training your replacement" are greatly exaggerated. They are put out by those who think if not for the H-1bs, they could be making $90k instead of $80K.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

26. One went from making $80k as an IT engineer to $12 an hour at Circuit City.

I live in a big tech hub and the numbers of displaced workers are in the thousands. Meanwhile, the corporations and politicians, aided and abetted by "flat earthers" like you, are clamoring for 2 million more H1B visas.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

28. Furthermore, if there really is a shortage of qualified workers

It's an indication that we need to train more Americans, not import workers. The corporations want to increase the number of H1B visas substantially, over a period of 10 years. That's more than enough time to grow our own talent here, dontcha think?

[Christa]

11. Not always true

We were here on an H1-B visa, we paid taxes while we waited to become citizens, which took almost 10 years.

[TahitiNut]

15. Just WHAT in my post are you contradicting?

What did *I* say was 'true' that you're saying isn't? There's nothing in your post that's contrary to what I said.

:wtf:

Q : What is an H-1B?

The H-1B is a nonimmigrant classification used by an alien who will be employed temporarily in a specialty occupation or as a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=bac7d92e8003f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1847c9ee2f82b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

[Christa]

19. Technically true

not in practice, and every "non-immigrant" pay taxes.

Immigrant Households and Businesses Generate Billions: In 2005, immigrant households and businesses paid approximately $300 billion in federal, state, and local taxes: $165 billion in federal income taxes, $85 billion in state and local income taxes, and $50 billion in business taxes.

Immigrants Pay More in Taxes Than They Use in Services Over Their Lifetimes: Depending on skills and level of education, each immigrant pays, on average, between $20,000 and $80,000 more in taxes than he or she consumes in public benefits.

http://www.aollatinoblog.com/2008/04/14/do-immigrants-pay-their-fair-share-of-taxes-you-bet-they-do/

[TahitiNut]

20. It is not true that every "non-immigrant' pays taxes anymore than it's true that every citizen pays.

Most people earning minimum wages, for example, don't pay income taxes. People with sufficient exemptions and deductions, yet below the limits for AMT, don't pay income taxes.

There are MANY reasons an individual working in the U.S. may not pay income taxes ... but it has very little or nothing to do with their immigration status, as I pointed out.

As I said, there's nothing inherent in an H1-B visa that exempts anyone from paying taxes ... even though, for other reasons, they may not.

[Warren Stupidity]

22. people trip over their own feet trying to find something

bad to pin on them foreigners. I am no huge fan of H1B visas, but the folks here working on them freaking pay their damn taxes. Dobbs is an ass who demagogues and misleads people and should be ashamed. DU'ers who fall for his crap should also be ashamed.

[MrsBrady]

9. no, as long as you work in the US, you pay US income taxes.

period.

Just like the rest of us.


on edit:
or at least you are supposed to...just like the rest of us.

they work on 1099 or W2, just like the rest of us; they are legally responsible for paying the taxes.

[treestar]

12. They have to - they are working in the U.S.

You can't claim nonresident alien status if you are in the U.S. You'd have to be working outside the U.S. and paying taxes to that government where you were working. I think you'd have to pay any difference if your taxes were lower, IIRR. You in essence get a deduction for having to pay the other country's taxes.

Even illegal aliens are liable for taxes - they even pay them, or could in the days before the government connected the dots with social security - still some have fake cards and thus pay into someone else's account.

[JCMach1]

14. American workers abroad are exempt up to a certain amount

appx. $90,000 if I remember correctly. However, if you work for a U.S. incorporated company, like I do, you still will pay FISA and medicare.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. They are exempt from US taxes.

on income earned outside the us for up to whatever the level is. They may or may not be subject to income taxes on that income from whatever country they did earn it in, which is the point of the exemption. My brother has worked overseas for the last 30 years and has done quite well on the income tax side of things. The xenophobes generally do not care about this sort of equivalency though. To them there couldn't possibly be americans working abroad - all the good jobs are here.

[Luminous Animal]

21. I believe that a U.S. worker is exempt

only if they are required to pay income tax in the foreign country in which they reside.

[treestar]

25. They get a deduction

And so if the foreign taxes are lower rate than U.S. taxes, they have to pay the balance. If the foreign taxes are higher, they are SOL. But then the foreign country might provide health care or the like if it has higher taxes.

[JCMach1]

27. Not true... if you are a permanent resident

you have the deduction

[Hekate]

30. Payroll taxes are taken out of everyone's paycheck. nt