This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee are withholding support for the current immigration reform bill because they want undocumented immigrants to pay back taxes on their earnings ("Utah's Hatch wants immigrants to pay back taxes," Tribune, June 7).
This is not the taxes they owed on an employer-issued W-2 form (which probably withheld taxes). They want them to remember every time someone gave them unreported cash for doing a job.
Paying someone "under the table" benefits employers far more that it benefits employees. Many of these cash payrolls are used by employers to avoid paying their share of Social Security and Medicare taxes or paying minimum wage.
Hatch and Lee say they would have to "rely on the honesty of each immigrant." Wow! How about relying on the honesty (and patriotism) of the employers who benefit from paying "under the table" and likewise owe millions to the IRS
Oh, that's right, Hatch and Lee are Republicans. Anything goes in the free market.
Susanne Reeves
Riverton