Burnt Orange Report

Through The Wire

By Jim Dallas

Houston TV station KHOU informs us on one interesting idea for funding indigent health care:

But Harris County commissioner Sylvia Garcia has an idea that she thinks could help solve the problem. Garcia wants to add a fee to all international wire transfers in Texas. The money would be used exclusively for indigent health care.

"This is an idea that could address the fiscal crisis in healthcare for the entire state of Texas," says Garcia.

If Commissioner Garcia gets her way this fee for international wire transfers would be less than using an ATM. And it could mean an extra $6 million to $10 million for Harris County.

George Garcia's family-owned check cashing business does a lot of international wire transfers. He says the costs of sending wire transfers to other countries has dropped dramatically in the past 10 years.

"If you want to send $300 to Mexico today, it'll cost you $10 bucks. In past, it would have cost you $30," he says, but Garcia worries about additional fees.

"International is probably our No. 1 wire transfer source," says Garcia. "But if it doesn't stop there then there's only so much the company will do. They'll pass it on to the consumer of course and the consumer is not gonna be very happy about that."

I happen to think that funds-transfer taxes are a generally good idea; but I must ask, would such a tax (if levied by the state of Texas) be an unconstitutional state export duty or un-WTO-tional trade barrier?

Moreover, as the story suggests, wouldn't such taxes disproportionately fall upon guest workers and immigrants?

UPDATE: Kuff points to the elephant in the room.