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March 29, 2012

Publication of an Esteemed UC Davis Law Alumna

Francine J. Lipman, Professor of Law at Chapman University, is a 1993 graduate of UC Davis School of Law and was Editor-in-Chief of the UC Davis Law Review.

Here is a new publication from this esteemed alum: The “Illegal” Tax (UHLC/IHELG Research Monograph 11-09, 2012), forthcoming in 11 Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal 93-132 (Fall - Winter 2011)

This Article debunks the short, but maladroit statement that “illegals do NOT pay taxes.” It  describes the depth and breadth of undocumented immigrants as a resource for tax payments made to government coffers across America. The depth and breadth is evinced by describing the myriad of different federal, state, and local taxes undocumented immigrants are subject to and pay. Most notably, this Article verifies that undocumented immigrants not only pay the same taxes that U.S. citizens and documented residents pay, but in addition that they are subject to and pay what is described as “the undocumented immigrant tax.” The undocumented immigrant tax is effectively an additional tax burden, a surtax or tariff on undocumented immigrants and their families. As a result, not only do undocumented immigrants pay taxes, but they bear a greater tax burden than similarly situated U.S. citizens and documented residents.