Without debate, the Tennessee House adopted a new tax on international money wire transfers aimed at generating state revenue primarily from funds that immigrants living in Tennessee send overseas.
The proposed legislation (HB2502/SB2166) by House Speaker Cameron Sexton of Crossville and Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson — both Republicans — would impose a $10 per-transaction tax on overseas money transfers or 2% of the total transmitted in excess of $500.
Any corporation defined as a financial institution would be excluded from the proposed tax, which would apply largely to transactions that take place outside traditional banking institutions, such as Western Union and retail store wire transfer services.
Critics of the bill, including the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, argued it would impact a broad range of Tennesseans who rely on affordable wire transfer services, including immigrants sending remittances to families in other countries, military families supporting relatives overseas, faith-based organizations funding international missionary work and small businesses paying international suppliers.
The tax, if fully implemented, is expected to generate $183 million in new state revenue annually, according to a fiscal analysis by the state. The revenue would be allocated to multiple uses: 20% earmarked for the state’s general fund; 38% to a TennCare “buyback fund” used to compensate hospitals; 18.5% for state childcare programs; 18.5% for workforce housing; and 5% for paid teacher public school internships.
A total of more than 16 million transactions totaling $5 trillion in transfers to foreign countries were initiated in Tennessee in the fiscal 2024-2025 year.
The full Senate has yet to take up the proposed legislation.
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