Sponsors (9)
Blocks federal excise taxes/fees on money transmitters unless Treasury certifies they won't increase money laundering risk or unduly burden transmitters.
The bill prioritizes protecting affordable remittance channels for immigrants by blocking new federal excise fees and requiring AML impact reviews, but that protection may constrain enforcement tools, create regulatory uncertainty, and prompt stricter compliance measures that could burden migrants and small transmitters.
Immigrants, remittance senders, and small money‑transmitter businesses are protected from new federal excise taxes or fees on remittance services unless Treasury certifies such a levy won't increase money‑laundering risk or impose undue burdens, preserving affordable cross‑border payments.
Immigrants, border communities, and businesses that rely on informal or alternative remittance channels face a reduced risk of sudden new federal fees that would disrupt cross‑border payments and local economic flows.
Policymakers, financial institutions, and remittance users benefit from a requirement that Treasury (informed by GAO/CRS/FinCEN findings) evaluate anti‑money‑laundering impacts before imposing fees, which helps preserve safe licit remittance channels and avoid pushing users to unregulated services.
Immigrants and low‑income remittance senders could face stricter compliance controls justified by the bill's focus on anonymous informal value transfer systems and criminal misuse, raising costs or reducing access to affordable remittance options.
Immigrants and users of cross‑border transfers (and the financial institutions that serve them) may experience increased monitoring and broader enforcement actions if emphasis on CMLO threats prompts tougher scrutiny of legitimate transfers, inconveniencing users and raising privacy concerns.
Taxpayers and federal oversight efforts could be constrained because prohibiting or delaying federal excise fees limits Treasury's ability to use such fees as a deterrent or to fund oversight and enforcement activities.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To limit the imposition of excise taxes and fees on money transmitting businesses, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 2, 2025 by Sam T. Liccardo · Last progress July 2, 2025
Prohibits the federal government from imposing an excise tax or fee on money transmitting businesses unless the Treasury Secretary certifies to Congress that the tax or fee will not increase money laundering or other financial crime risks and will not impose an undue burden on those businesses. It defines "money transmitting business" broadly to include licensed remittance providers and informal transfer systems (IVTS) that operate outside traditional banks.