Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico will provide its best political and legal defense against the initiative to tax remittances says Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente.
“This initiative is aimed at people who have already paid taxes, who contribute significantly to the American economy. Remittances represent only 18% of their total income, the rest remains in the United States,” he said regarding the new 5% Remittance Tax by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“This initiative has no reason to exist and we do not agree with it,” he said. De la Fuente detailed the legislative process being carried out in the U.S. House of Representatives through the Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for tax matters.
He also highlighted the response sent to congressmen on the instructions of President Claudia Sheinbaum, to express their rejection of this initiative.
He said the legislative committee met May 12 where this tax-funding initiative was presented, and a day later, a letter signed by the Mexican ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, and the head of the North American Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Velasco, was delivered to its congressmen in which the arguments that the president indicated to us were presented.
De la Fuente reported that in addition to this letter, Ambassador Moctezuma has been meeting with various groups of legislative representatives to present Mexico’s position and the reasons why it disagrees with the initiative.
He also reported that the proposals submitted by the Secretary of the Interior to the Permanent Commission of the Congress of the Union were forwarded through official channels and the Permanent Commission issued a statement on the matter.
Roberto Velasco, head of the North American Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that while the government respects legislative procedures, the initiative under consideration impacts several areas of international law that the two countries have agreed to through the Convention to Avoid Double Taxation and Prevent Tax Evasion, in force since 1994.
He explained that this initiative, in addition to establishing double taxation, is aimed not only at undocumented immigrants, but also at any non-US citizen in the United States who uses these services.
“That’s very sensitive because it means that even a person in the United States with a work visa or a green card as they call it, a permanent resident card, would be subject to this tax and naturally we think that’s discriminatory,” he said.
Velasco made it clear that Mexico does not have any taxes specifically targeting Americans and in this case, there would be a tax that differentiates between Americans and Mexicans.
“In the letter that was sent, one of the points highlighted was this: discrimination and double taxation” of the initiative, he said.
