EDMOND — The nonprofit National and State Chambers of Commerce oppose the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 — HB 1804 and are working to weaken this legislation although 87 percent of Oklahomans support the bill. Will the implementation of this bill create a hardship and inconvenience for many employers required to abide by the rule of law? Most certainly!
A 1996 film with Tom Cruise popularized the term show me the money. This phrase sums up the opposition by the Chambers of Commerce, the Restaurant Association and Motel Association. And Chesapeake Industries? We know their stand on the issue, but what scheme are they defending? The hardships resulting in enforcement of HB 1804 is nothing more than the curtailment of unscrupulous businesses that employ illegal aliens and pay wages “under the table.” Or, their practice to avoid payment of matching funds to state/federal tax agencies. This is undeniably a major inconvenience for them.
Since the 1990s, all businesses owners are required to have employees fill out an I-9 Form whereby the employer is obligated to check citizenship verification and validity of identification forms submitted. Evidently, corrupt employers are violating this requirement or their claims of ignorance would be laughable since they are required by law to know the legal status of their workers.
A common practice in Oklahoma that has allowed the scamming of Oklahoma taxpayers to continue by unscrupulous businesses owners is the distortion of classification of their workers.
An employer acquires and negotiates the contracts for jobs and pays for insurance coverage required. The employer provides the place to work, designates work to be done, when to do it, and provides the equipment and tools to do the job. All of those he employs are called employees.
A great number of illegal aliens are being willfully misclassified by the business owner as an “independent contractor.” This means the independent contractor is responsible for paying his own taxes. He also is responsible for setting his own hours, uses his own tools and equipment on the job, bids and acquires the job, determines how the work is to be done and hours needed to do the job and provides insurance coverage for himself.
The employee classification means the employee is told what hours to work, where the project is to be done, what work needs to be done, when it must be done and the employer withholds taxes from his employees and adds matching funds to send to state and federal tax agencies. Example: 24 percent withheld worker plus 24 percent matched by employer goes to state/federal tax agencies.
So how does it affect the honest taxpaying Oklahoma citizen? In addition to an earned profit, the corrupt business owner also pocket their obligation of matching funds to tax agencies. The employer claims a liability business expense of wages on his tax reporting, yet he gets the house built or road and bridge constructed with no taxes paid on most of the wages.
This practice has been nothing but a scam on the Oklahoma citizens even while labor guidelines are well known — just ask any Certified Public Accountant.
Passage of HB 1804 has shinned a giant spotlight on this unscrupulous, devious, corrupt and fraudulent practice of scamming Oklahoma honest taxpayers. HB 1804 creates a great beginning for legal immigrants to be treated equal with citizens — we all pay our taxes. Is not that what we all want?
CAROL HELM is director of Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now.
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