For four decades, the US has maintained a consistent policy position: money should be fairly free to come and go in and out of the country. That's changing.
Two sections in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would add friction. First is a 3.5% tax on immigrants sending money home, commonly known as remittances. Second is what's known as Section 899 or, colloquially, the 'revenge tax'. This one is making Wall Street wary. It would slap extra taxes on people and businesses investing in the U.S. if their home countries were deemed to tax Americans unfairly.
We explain these two taxes that could mark a shift in our free-flowing money era.
Related episodes:
The long view of economics and immigration (Two Indicators) (Apple / Spotify)
The "chilling effect" of deportations (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Copyright 2025 NPR
