Can tax policy stop human trafficking?

I. INTRODUCTION

The total number of victims who are held in captivity to perform forced labor at any one time is estimated to be as high as twenty-seven million. (1) That would be equivalent to every man, woman, and child in the states of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York (2) being held in captivity and forced for twelve to fourteen hours each day to labor in sweatshops, or toil as agricultural workers, or service sexually many customers every day with no hope that it will ever end except by death. They would live in crowded, dirty hovels, receive little food and no medical care, and live under the constant threat of beatings, rape, and other violence. Every year, new victims will be added to their numbers. This is human trafficking.

The twenty-seven million victims include those who are trafficked within their own country and those who are trafficked across international borders. (3) Each year, as many as one to four million new victims are trafficked across international borders. (4)

Both domestic and international efforts to prevent cross-border trafficking have been ineffective, and the number of victims increases each year. Victims who are trafficked across international borders come from countries that are primarily war-torn, developing, or poor. They are trafficked through transit countries which have weak immigration laws or in which immigration or law enforcement personnel can be easily bribed, or whose topography makes it easy to get across the border without being detected. The victims end up in destination countries that are rich and economically developed. (5)

Human trafficking is the third largest international criminal enterprise, behind drugs and arms smuggling, and it is starting to surpass drugs. (6) It generates approximately $9 billion a year. (7) Why is human trafficking so appealing to criminals? It is a relatively low-risk, inexpensive way to make a lot of money very quickly. (8)

The international community recognizes that human trafficking is a human rights violation and the United Nations repeatedly has denounced the practice. Yet, it not only continues, but it flourishes, in part because the United Nations pronouncements themselves do not contain sanctions. (9) Both the United States and the European Union have enacted domestic legislation; however, for the most part, that legislation does not cross borders and reach into countries where the trafficking originates. (10)

The rise in human trafficking can be attributed to many factors, such as overpopulation, social chaos in poor or war-torn countries, poverty, and government corruption. Of all the factors that lead to human trafficking, government corruption is the most significant. (11) Corrupt government officials enable trafficking in a number of ways, including providing false visas for victims, refusing to stop or prosecute known traffickers, or even engaging in trafficking themselves. The importance of improving the living conditions for those who are vulnerable, educating potential victims, and prosecuting offenders cannot be gainsaid. However, if government corruption is the most significant factor, then we need to direct our efforts towards eradicating government corruption while at the same time respecting state sovereignty. This article recommends taxation as an economic incentive that would recruit as allies in this war the wealthy residents of countries where government officials or the governments themselves are complicit in trafficking.