Immigration Tax ID Number (ITIN) gains popularity. . .

(The ITIN was put in place for federal tax purposes in 1996. It is a tax processing number for nonresident aliens and their dependents.)

By RICK BADIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 03/27/03

David Aveleno Pataca flips open his wallet and pulls out a card from the federal government.

It's his Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, issued by the IRS so folks like Pataca, an undocumented laborer without a Social Security card, can file tax returns.

Pataca, though, has never filed a tax return, paid taxes or claimed a refund.

"I was going to do it this year," said the 41-year-old carpenter, passing time Tuesday at a labor hall in Lindbergh Plaza in Atlanta.

"But the company I worked for never sent my [W-2 forms]," Pataca continued. "Now, it's out of business."

Pataca plans to hold on to that card, though. It's a gateway to legitimacy for Mexican nationals like him, who can use it to open checking accounts, get a cellphone or rent an apartment -- things the ITIN was never intended for.

In 1996, the Internal Revenue Service started the ITIN program because so many tax returns were being filed with fake Social Security numbers, which generally serve as taxpayer ID numbers. Those without a Social Security number can get a ITIN by filling out IRS Form W-7.

Initially, information about the availability of the tax processing number was slow to reach immigrants. Now they apparently know. Nationwide, more than 5 million ITINs have been issued, a figure that includes foreigners living overseas who use the ID to file U.S. taxes. The IRS doesn't keep state figures on taxpayer identification numbers in circulation.

Yet observers say states like Georgia, that have experienced a wave of immigrants, are home to thousands of cardholders. Many are believed to be folks like Pataca -- non-citizens here illegally to work.

Advocacy groups encourage laborers to obtain the cards so they can adhere to the law. Critics say the documents send a mixed message about immigration law, and condones the 8 million to 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. No one knows exactly how much revenue is collected from undocumented workers in payroll taxes because the IRS doesn't inquire about whether taxpayers are working legally. Experts estimate it is billions of dollars.

The IRS, meanwhile, has one concern: collecting taxes -- not tracking down illegal immigrants. The agency has doled out money to community organizations in some parts of the country in an effort to have undocumented workers file taxes.

Eric Erickson, a spokesman for the Atlanta office, said "The ITIN was only put in place for federal tax purposes. It's a tax processing number for nonresident aliens and their dependents," he said.

Such a mission has its critics.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonpartisan think-tank in Washington, compared the ITINs to the matricula consular cards, the identification cards issued by Mexico to nationals living abroad. The cards are being accepted as a valid ID by American banks, police and other agencies.

Both are measures to "bring about a backdoor amnesty for illegal aliens," Krikorian said. "Some people argue that illegals are paying withholding taxes and not getting refunds" because so few actually file tax returns. They make low incomes, so there isn't much of a refund to begin with."

Tax law is one aspect of American life laborers learn about when they turn to groups like the Mexican consulate in Atlanta. Regardless of their immigration status, they are told to get on the tax rolls, said Remedios Gomez Arnau, the Mexican consul general.

"We tell them they need to pay taxes, and we tell them one way is to get the identification number," said Arnau, who suggests that laborers paid by company check generally file tax returns. "The majority of them want to comply with the law. What they don't understand is that, though their labor force is demanded and they can pay taxes, they can't get visas to be here legally."

Maria Garcia, who oversees labor halls in Buckhead and Duluth, helps workers fill out applications for the IDs. Many undocumented workers whose taxes are automatically deducted don't file an IRS return out of fear of being deported. Others hope that paying U.S. taxes will help them gain legal residency some day.

Pablo Arteaga-Porron of Mexico recently applied for the taxpayer ID card.

"I want to pay taxes, but the benefits of having the card are good, too, said Porron, a friend of Pataca, who also lives in Atlanta. "With the ID, you can open a checking account."