DALLAS _ Unauthorized immigrants don't pay taxes.
It's one of the most common but inaccurate talking points in the ongoing immigration debate.
While some unauthorized immigrants may be paid in cash and avoid federal taxes altogether, some tax experts say it's almost impossible to imagine anyone in Texas avoiding state taxes if they rent homes, pay for gasoline and generally buy things.
Because Texas doesn't have a state income tax, the state has higher sales and property taxes and taxes more products and services than other states, said John Kennedy, senior policy analyst at the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a nonprofit that studies the impact of tax policies on Texans.
Kennedy said that means there's "no way" unauthorized immigrants living in Texas are able to avoid paying the same taxes most Texans do.
A 2016 analysis from the Waco-based Perryman Group found that the unauthorized immigrant workforce in Texas contributes about $32.2 billion annually in taxes.
Here's how those taxes are paid or collected:
