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Many people were left out of the first round of COVID-19 stimulus checks. That was true of people who lack a social security number but still pay taxes in the United States. The Democrats want to change that in the proposed second round of COVID-19 stimulus checks. The bill faces quite a political battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, though.
House Democrats passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act, which is the stimulus check second round. The bill’s summary says it “provides additional direct payments of up to $1,200 per individual.”
According to Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine, “Unlike the CARES Act, the Heroes Act would also permit taxpayers without Social Security Numbers, and those in their households, to receive Economic Impact Payments using a Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).” She said the change would be retroactive, meaning people in that category would get the first stimulus check payment too.
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “more than 4.3 million adults and 3.5 million children would benefit from this change.” The organization states that the first round of stimulus checks contained a requirement that all members of a household have a social security number and this provision excluded “millions of undocumented immigrants and their children and spouses, many of whom are citizens, from payments.” Some undocumented immigrants file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). It’s these people who would be helped by round two. California has by far the largest number of people who would benefit from the change. The Institute has compiled a state-by state list that you can see here.
See the full text of the HEROES Act here.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Bill Faces Major Political Hurdles
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What is an ITIN? “An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS issues ITINs to individuals who are required to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who do not have, and are not eligible to obtain, a Social Security number (SSN) from the Social Security Administration (SSA),” the IRS explains.
What are they used for? The IRS “issues ITINs to help individuals comply with the U.S. tax laws, and to provide a means to efficiently process and account for tax returns and payments for those not eligible for Social Security numbers,” the agency explains. “They are issued regardless of immigration status, because both resident and nonresident aliens may have a U.S. filing or reporting requirement under the Internal Revenue Code. ITINs do not serve any purpose other than federal tax reporting.”
The bill still needs to make it through the political process so the expansion to help those who don’t have social security numbers is far from certain. “So let me state the obvious. What Nancy Pelosi is proposing will never pass the Senate,” said Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming in a tweet shared by Senate Republicans.
Republicans have said they might not move on the legislation until after the Memorial Day recess in June, according to Vox. Top Republicans have been critical of the Democrats’ approach. “We have not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately. That time could develop, but I don’t think it has yet,” said Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to Politico. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told Politico the House bill is “more like a messaging document than anything else.”
According to NBC News, President Donald Trump called the bill “dead on arrival.”
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