The US House Budget Committee voted late on Sunday night to advance President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", which would make sending money back home more expensive for thousands of Indian residents and non-resident Indians (NRIs) living in America.
The bill proposes a 5 per cent tax on all international money transfers made by non-US citizens, including non-immigrant visa holders (like H-1B) and green card holders. If passed, the law would withhold 5 per cent of the remitted amount at the point of transfer. No exemption threshold limit has been set, meaning it would even apply to transfers of small denominations.
The section on remittances in the 1,116-page legislation, however, specified that the 5 per cent clause will not apply to any remittance transfer by a 'verified US sender', meaning if the sender is a US citizen or national of the United States.
The law could come as a massive financial blow to nearly 45 lakh Indians living in the US, including nearly 32 lakh persons of Indian Origin.
According to a remittance survey published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in March, of the total $118.7 billion remitted in 2023-24, nearly 28 per cent or $32 billion came from America. Taking this figure as the benchmark, the Indian community may have to pay $1.6 billion (5 per cent of $ 32 billion) as remittance tax if the law is enacted.
The proposed tax is not limited to monetary remittances and would also affect transfers of investment income or proceeds from stock options -- means often used by non-resident Indians to support families back home or make investments in their home country.
Mass Deportation Operation Funding
The legislation hits immigrants in more ways than one. It would provide $46.5 billion to revive construction of Trump's wall along the US-Mexico border, and more money for the deportation agenda. It includes $4 billion to hire an additional 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, 5,000 new customs officers, and $2.1 billion for signing and retention bonuses. There's also funding for 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and investigators.
It also includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum - something the nation has never done, putting it on par with a few others, including Australia and Iran.
Overall, the plan is to remove 1 million immigrants annually and house 100,000 people in detention centres.
On Friday, a group of Budget Committee hard-liners voted to block the litigation from moving forward, defying Trump and Republican leaders. However, in Sunday's vote, the bill was passed by a 17-16 vote and moved one step closer to a floor vote.
