politics
House Bill Targets Payroll Tax Exemption in Foreign Student Work Program
A new House bill would require employers to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for foreign students in the Optional Practical Training program. The measure follows an ICE investigation that identified more than 10,000 foreign students linked to suspect employers.
May 21, 9:47 AM·1m read1 source
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Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin introduced the OPT Fair Tax Act on Thursday. The legislation would end the current exemption from Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes that applies to employers hiring foreign students under the Optional Practical Training program. Under existing rules, companies pay these taxes for American workers but not for OPT participants. U.S. citizens.
Lyons announced that investigators identified more than 10,000 foreign students connected to suspect employers. The findings involved the top 25 OPT employers and were described as only the initial portion of a larger review. Lyons stated that some foreign students obtained work authorization through the program but never appeared at the workplaces they listed.
He referred to these individuals as phantom employees.
The Optional Practical Training program allows international students on F-1 visas to work temporarily in positions related to their field of study. Between fiscal years 2017 and 2022, an average of approximately 330,000 students participated each year, according to data from the Institute for Progress.
The same analysis estimated that removing the tax exemption would generate between $27 billion and $36 billion in additional federal revenue over ten years. Grothman’s bill is the House companion to legislation introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas in September.
U.S. graduates obtain employment.
