Nigerian Immigrants Pay $4bn In Taxes To U.S.

New report released by the New American Economy, a research company, suggests that Nigerian immigrant in the United States made over $14 billion and spent over $4 billion on taxes in 2018.

In 2016 alone, US Census Bureau estimated that there are 262, 603 Nigerians in the country.

Immigrants constitute 13.7% of the 327.2 million population of US with 44,760,622 immigrants in 2018.

Immigrants in the US made $1.6 trillion in 2018 alone but paid $458.7 billion out of this earning as tax, which is 28.7% of their income.

However, Nigerian immigrant community alone made $14 billion and paid $4 billion in taxes in the period.

Contribution of immigrants to the US economy

According to the data, people who immigrated into the country including Nigerians are more active in the labour force than their US counterparts and contribute to the economy as taxpayers who help fund the social services, medicare and social security.

Immigrants own about 3,246,495 businesses in the country and employed about 8 million Americans in 2018 alone.

The data revealed further that the immigrants contributed $150 billion in state and local taxes and $308.6 billion in federal taxes.

International students contributed $41 billion and supported 458,290 jobs in the country as volunteers.

Recall in 2019 the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs had said in a report- Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, that Nigeria has 13, 423 students in the US and contributed $514 million in 2018.

Industries with the highest immigrant work force

Foreign-born workers constitute 48.2% of the taxi and luminous services in the country.

The data also showed that in the non-specified metal industries, immigrants constitute 45.6% of the workers, adding that 45% of the private household sector are foreign born.

Taxi drivers and maids/housekeeping cleaners in the US are mostly immigrants, as they constitute 50.6% and 50.5% of the work force respectively.

The nail salons and other personal care services has 44.5% of its workforce as foreign born, while apparel manufacturing and apparel accessories industry has 44.2% of its workforce as immigrants.

Occupation with highest immigrants

Immigrants dominated the unskilled and semi-skilled professions, with 76.7% of the manicurists and pedicurists in the US being immigrants.

Gardeners and sorters in the US are mostly immigrants, as they dominate the occupation by 56.7%, while those who install ceiling tiles, drywall installers and tapers are 50% foreign born.

Meanwhile, health care businesses in the country are running short of workers with serious shortage in the rural areas and immigrants are already filling the health care gap as 15.1% of the nurses in the US are immigrants.

The new American Economy also showed that Immigrants in the country make up 25.9% of health aides workers.

Immigrant Increased US housing wealth by $3.7 trillion

According to the report, immigrants own 9.7 million houses in the US, as 14.2% bought homes recently.

Immigrants in the country owns a housing wealth of $4.1 trillion, adding that they paid $120.4 billion in rent, the highest compared to US born.

Similarly, the US has about 11 million undocumented immigrants who are mostly working age.

In the list, 808,199 are undocumented entrepreneurs.

The undocumented immigrants have $249.7 billion as their earnings, while $31 billion went into taxes.