Mexican government opposes remittance provision in Trump tax bill [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 16, 2025 / 2:32 PM EDT
The House Republican bill to enact President Trump's domestic policy agenda contains a provision that has prompted opposition from the Mexican government — a tax on cash payments sent by non-U.S. citizens to family members in their home countries. The payments, known as remittances, would be subject to a 5% excise tax that would encompass more than 40 million people, including green card holders and nonimmigrant visa holders, such as people on H-1B, H-2A and H-2B visas. U.S. citizens would be exempt.
In a May 13 letter to the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee, Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., urged Chairman Jason Smith and Ranking Member Richard Neal to reconsider the proposal. "We respectfully urge you to reconsider this section of the legislative proposal, and we remain available to continue dialogue on the matter," wrote Barragán and Robert Velasco Alvarez, Mexico's chief officer for North America. Spokespeople for both Smith and Neal did not respond to a request for comment.
In April, President Trump hinted at a crackdown on remittances, announcing in a Truth Social Post that the administration was "finalizing a presidential memorandum to shut down remittances sent by illegal aliens outside of the United States." But details on the presidential proposal were unclear.
The remittance tax provisions in the bill have become an international flashpoint. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also criticized the plan and urged Republican lawmakers to reconsider it. At a press briefing this week, Sheinbaum warned that the proposal "would damage the economy of both nations and is also contrary to the spirit of economic freedom that the U.S. government claims to defend."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexican-government-opposes-remittance-trump-tax-bill/
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