-Caveat Lector- http://www.networkusa.org/fingerprint/page1/fp-gatt-ssn-requirements.html ======================================================================= "Fight the Fingerprint" Action Items as reported in the "Scan This News" Email Newsletter Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================================= SCAN THIS NEWS 06/31/98 Recently, questions have arisen as to whether either GATT or possibly NAFTA included language necessitating that every child must be numbered at birth under a member country's "social security" numbering program. At least two existing treaties mention requirements for both "social security" and "registering" of children at birth. For example, there is a "right to social security" alleged within the United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" wherein Article 22 provides that: "Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security..." And, the "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" requires that every child shall be "registered at birth." Article 24 states: "2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name." However, after a great deal of searching, no specific reference to "numbering at birth" was found within the language of either GATT or NAFTA. So where did these "rumors" originate? GATT and the World Trade Organization (WTO) In 1994, the United States entered into the agreement known as the World Trade Agreement (WTA). The WTA established the World Trade Organization (WTO), and it also integrally incorporated the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The primary purpose of the WTA/GATT round of agreements is to provide "trade breaks and incentives" to "under-developed countries" so as to give them and their respective industry "equal footing" in the global market. In 1994, in compliance with WTA/GATT requirements, the 103rd United States Congress enacted the "GATT-implementing legislation" referred to as the "Uruguay Round Agreements Act." The purpose of this Act was to jointly adopt and implement both the WTA and GATT. The United States' implementing legislation specifically includes a "numbering at birth" program. During Senate floor debates, Senator Pete Domenici spoke in favor of adopting the GATT legislation. At the time, he was attempting to discharge many of the arguments which had been raised in opposition to GATT. At one point Senator Patrick Moynihan engaged Senator Domenici in an impromptu dialogue questioning whether the bill included a requirement for United States citizens to be "numbered at birth." Their exchange went as follows: Mr. DOMENICI: "A final question of special concern is that GATT requires that every United States citizen receive an identification number at birth, and that this matter is unrelated and irrelevant to matters of trade. The answer is that this requirement is included in the implementing language of GATT; it is not part of the GATT itself. This language was included in the implementing legislation because to ensure accurate assessments of income taxes, improper deductions on tax returns must be minimized. "Mr. MOYNIHAN: It is the Social Security number. "Mr. DOMENICI: The Social Security number, that is right. Senator Domenici went on to explain: "As a consequence, this section is designed to reduce tax cheating by people who claim children they do not have, which has the effect of reducing their taxes. This is important because it has a significant effect on the amount of tax revenue collected, which directly correlates with the overall net cost of the agreement to the U.S. Treasury. Therefore, the United States has decided that it is critical to maintain an accurate accounting of its taxable population." [From the Congressional Record, Senate - Page: S15274-S15275, 1994] Senator Domenici clearly stated that the GATT-implementing imposed a requirement for every United States citizen to be "numbered at birth," which was necessary to comply with GATT. The relevant provision in GATT - to which Senator Domenici alluded - concerns government-provided "subsidies" that may give any particular industry an "unfair advantage" on the global market. Within GATT, all government subsidies -- including tax breaks, incentives, exemptions, and credits -- must be closely regulated and monitored so that an accounting can be given to the WTO. The Trade Agreement also requires that each member country make available to every other country detailed records of all subsidies so that "equalization measures" can be instituted assuring under-developed countries a "level playing field" in the global market. If an under-developed member country complains and alleges to the WTO that it has been disadvantaged by another country because of government-provided subsidies, the challenged country must open up its books and records for examination by the WTO and must prove that the subsidy complies with the WTO Agreement. In such case, the "challenged country" must be able to account for and verify all government-granted tax breaks, benefits, and incentives. Therefore, every detail of every tax-related subsidy, including "tax exemptions" and "tax credits for children" must be impeccably accounted for and completely verifiable. Consequently, GATT itself does not require member countries to "number" all citizens and residents at birth, however, the intent and consequence of the United States' GATT implementing legislation is that every child must be numbered so that "dependent exemptions" and "child tax credits" can be reported to the WTO. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Relevant excerpts from the U.S. implementing Act and from the WTO/GATT documents are included below for those who would like to do further research or to verify this information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [U.S. Law Adopting the World Trade Organization and GATT Uruguay Round of Agreements] H.R.5110 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (1994, Public Law: 103-465) Subtitle A--Approval of Agreements and Related Provisions SEC. 101. APPROVAL AND ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS. (a) APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS AND STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION- Pursuant to section 1103 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2903) and section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191), the Congress approves-- (1) the trade agreements described in subsection (d) resulting from the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, entered into on April 15, 1994, and submitted to the Congress on September 27, 1994; and (2) the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the agreements that was submitted to the Congress on September 27, 1994. ------------------------- TITLE VII--REVENUE PROVISIONS Subtitle E - (amendments to the U.S. Code) SEC. 742. TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS REQUIRED AT BIRTH. (b) DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION- Subsection (e) of section 6109 is amended to read as follows: `(e) FURNISHING NUMBER FOR DEPENDENTS- Any taxpayer who claims an exemption under section 151 for any dependent on a return for any taxable year shall include on such return the identifying number (for purposes of this title) of such dependent.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [WORLD TRADE AGREEMENT (WTA) finalized in Uruguay in 1994 establishing the WTO and adopting GATT revisions. GATT was originally adopted by the U.S. in 1947.] AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES PART I: GENERAL Article 1 Definition of a Subsidy - 1.1 For the purpose of this Agreement, a subsidy shall be deemed to exist if: (a)(1) there is a financial contribution by a government or any public body within the territory of a Member (hereinafter referred to as "government"), i.e., where: (i) Government practice involves a direct transfer of funds (e.g., grants, loans, and equity infusion), potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities (e.g., loan guarantees); (ii) government revenue that is otherwise due, is foregone or not collected (e.g., fiscal incentives such as tax credits)... Article 2 Specificity - 2.11 In order to determine whether a subsidy, as defined in paragraph 1 of Article 1 above is specific to an enterprise or industry or group of enterprises or industries (hereinafter referred to as "certain enterprises") within the jurisdiction of the granting authority, the following principles shall apply: (b) Where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, establishes objective criteria or conditions governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered to. The criteria or conditions must be clearly spelled out in law, regulation, or other official document, so as to be capable of verification. Article 12 Evidence - 12.5 Except in circumstances provided for in paragraph 7, the authorities shall during the course of an investigation satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of the information supplied by interested parties or interested Members upon which their findings are based. PART VII: NOTIFICATION AND SURVEILLANCE Article 25 Notifications - 25.2 Members shall notify any subsidy as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 1 above, granted or maintained within their territory. 25.3 The content of notifications should be sufficiently specific to enable other Members to evaluate the trade effects and to understand the operation of notified subsidy programmes. In this connection and without prejudice to the contents and form of the questionnaire on subsidies, Members shall ensure that their notifications contain the following information: (i) form of a subsidy (i.e., grant, loan, tax concession, etc.)... ANNEX V Procedures for Developing Information Concerning Serious Prejudice - 1. Every Member shall co-operate in the development of evidence to be examined by the Committee or its subsidiary bodies... 2. In cases where matters are referred to in the Committee under paragraph 4 of Article 7, the Committee shall upon request, initiate the procedure to obtain such information from the government of the subsidizing Member as necessary to establish the existence and amount of subsidizations, the value of total sales of the subsidized firms, as well as information necessary to analyze the adverse effects caused by the subsidized product. This process may include, where appropriate, presentation of questions to the government of the subsidizing country and of the complaining country to collect information, as well as to clarify and obtain elaboration of information available to the parties to a dispute through the notification procedures set forth in Part VII above. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Additional information on Global Social Security systems.] ------------------------------------------------------------------- International Social Security Association http://www.aiss.org/ ====================================================================== "ScanThisNews" Email newsletter" is Sponsored by S.C.A.N. 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