MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The conservative national advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform has come out against bills currently making their way through the Alabama Legislature that hike fees on international wire transfers in order to help localities where the immigration population has surged.
In a letter addressed to members of the House Ways & Means Education Trust Fund Committee obtained by Alabama Daily News, ATR President Grover Norquist said his organization is opposed to House Bills 192 and 297, which would both impose refundable fees on international wire transfers, writing that the bills would have “negative unintended consequences” on legal residents.
Sponsored by Rep. Mark Shirey, R-Mobile, HB192 would impose a 2% fee on outgoing international wire transfers, with the collected fees deposited into the state’s Education Trust Fund to hire English Language Learner instructors. HB297, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Fidler, R-Fairhope, would impose a 4% fee on outgoing international wire transfers, with collected fees being split between law enforcement and ELL instruction. Both bills would allow the fees to be recouped up to $5,000 for legal residents through an annual tax credit.
However, Shirey confirmed to Alabama Daily News Wednesday night that he would not be working to advance his bill, deciding to instead support Fidler’s HB297, signing on as a cosponsor. Attempts to reach Fidler were unsuccessful.
While designed to offset costs incurred by the state from undocumented residents, Norquist argued that a sizable share of legal residents making international wire transfers won’t end up recouping the fees, and that the upfront costs would encourage “work-arounds and black-market arrangements.”
“According to IRS data, one fifth of taxpayers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit fail to redeem it,” Norquist wrote.
“Furthermore, residents of other states doing business in Alabama, tourists, and many more otherwise legal Americans will be left without the ability to redeem the tax credit. Members of the armed forces stationed in Alabama who file their income taxes in another state would also be adversely affected by these proposed tax hikes.”
Norquist went on to champion the Legislature’s past and ongoing efforts to reduce taxes, expand school choice and to combat illegal immigration, which he described as “a problem that needs to be addressed,” but wrote that the “state tax code is not the appropriate tool with which” to do so.
The two bills, with Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, carrying a version of HB297 in the Senate, are among nine bills state lawmakers have filed or advanced recently targeting illegal immigration, with legislative leadership describing the bills as an effort to compliment President Donald Trump’s focus on illegal immigration. Both bills have been assigned to be heard in the House Ways & Means Education Trust Fund Committee.
Americans for Tax Reform has sizable influence among the Republican Party, with a majority of Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House, including all of Alabama’s GOP delegation, having signed ATR’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a written promise by lawmakers to oppose tax hikes. Norquist has also remained a major figure in conservative politics, having helped to shape decades’ worth of Republican tax policy.
Eight members of the Alabama Legislature have signed the pledge, compared to 21 members 13 years ago. Gov. Kay Ivey has also signed the promise, according to the ATR site. Norquist wrote a similar letter to Alabama leaders in 2019 when GOP leadership proposed a gas tax increase. It was approved with overwhelming support.
“Pursuing income tax rate reduction and elimination is a laudable goal, but it’s important to avoid imposing new taxes in the process,” Norquist wrote. “As you consider further income tax rate reduction and other pro-growth reforms, I urge you to reject proposals that would offset the benefits of tax relief or send the wrong message about Alabama as a place to do business.”