Letter: Illegal immigrants do pay taxes in U.S.

Friday, April 21, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

Do the illegal immigrants have some kind of tax number to excuse their sales tax when they buy clothes, vehicles, liquor, fast food, movie tickets, car parts, appliances, electronics, building materials and furniture?

Are they excused from paying property taxes? Does the landlord excuse their taxes on rentals? Are they excused from paying gasoline taxes (federal, state and local)? Who pays their taxes on utilities?

Even with a false Social Security number, are they excused from paying FICA?

Don't they pay federal income tax when the employer is required to withhold taxes? Or is the employer not following the law? Does the homebuilding industry and the casino industry pay them in cash? If so, does the homebuilding industry claim the salaries as their tax deductible item?

Does the majority of the illegals get away without providing proof of car insurance when they register their vehicle? Or does the Department of Motor Vehicles have an "exempt illegals" entry? Or did the majority of them migrate through California, since we have several ex-California residents with California plates?

After being exposed to several examples of the number of illegal immigrants in this country, I wonder how the count is made. Who keeps track, the Census Bureau or the Minutemen in Arizona? Eleven million, 12 million, 25 million? Or maybe it's just 1 million.

Contrary to many assertions that illegals don't pay taxes, they are contributing to our tax base!

Esmael E. Candelaria, Henderson