Mexicans and Economies

BBC¹ Learning² EnglishWeekenderMexicans and EconomiesYvonne: Hello, this is bbclearningenglish.com - I’m YvonneArcher!
　　Now terms like ‘the black economy³’ and ‘indirect⁴ taxes’
　　shout ‘business’, but how do they connect to ordinarypeople? We’ll find that out from a Mexican point of viewas we do business on today’s Weekender!
　　Miguel Molina, an Editor with the BBC’s Latin⁵ AmericanService, is one of only about 5,000 Mexicans who live, workand study here in the UK. But although they’re‘abroad’ - living in another country - they’re stillextremely important to Mexico. Why?
　　Miguel MolinaHistorically, the main source⁶ of income for Mexico andMexicans has been oil. However, the second most importantsource of income has become the money that Mexicans abroadsend to Mexico. So we’re talking about billions of poundsreally.
　　Yvonne: For many years, ‘historically’, Mexico’s ‘mainsource of income’ has been oil– so most of the government’s money is made by sellingit. But after oil, the largest amount of money comesfrom Mexicans abroad who are sending huge amounts of moneyback to their families! The money’s often sent through‘official channels’ - financial institutions like banksthat are recognised by the government. So how does theMexican government get their part of all thatmoney?
　　…Well, in the form of indirect taxes and taxes to thefamilies eventually who receive themoney. But so far, the Mexican government has decided⁷ notto touch those monies because if they did, people wouldstop sending money through those official channels, such asbanks and, you know financial houses and exchange houses.
　　Yvonne: Ah! For example, to change their pounds intolocal money, a family pays bank charges. Then thebank pays some of that money to the government in taxes.
　　That’s an ‘indirect’ tax because the familydoesn’t pay it to the government itself. And if thegovernment changed all that, as Miguel explained, Mexicansabroad would find other ways to send their money home. Wayswhich probably wouldn’t involve any taxes at all.
　　In the UK, most Mexicans are students but as we’ve beenhearing, there are some who work.  They still manageto send money home when they don’t earn very much. Whoare they and what’s the term that Miguel uses to help usunderstand their situation?
　　Miguel MolinaThere are some people who came as tourists and ended upstaying and they are now a part of the black economy.
　　Yvonne: Tourists who come to the UK are not allowed to workand must leave the country when they’ve agreed to. Butlike people from many countries, some Mexicans don’t gohome. They find jobs but can’t pay taxes on what theyearn in the UK because the government would find out thatthey’re still here. They became a part of ‘the blackeconomy’. So do they pay any taxes?
　　Whether you’re legally⁸ or illegally⁹ in any country, youend up paying taxes - indirect taxes.
　　Every time you buy a bottle of water, every time you buy abeer, every time you buy anything, you pay taxes. So,I understand, a very important part of the income of anygovernment.
　　So it’s not that they get a tax-free existence.
　　Nobody does.
　　Yvonne: Aha - indirect taxes again, this time on thingslike a bottle of water. So everyone pays tax. As Miguelputs it ‘there’s no such thing as a tax-free existence’.
　　So really it’s good news for both the Mexican and the UKgovernment.  But sad news for others.…Miguel MolinaThere are towns in Mexico where only women, old men andchildren live because all men of working age are abroad.
　　Mostly in the United¹⁰ States.
　　Yvonne: The men who are old enough to leave school and findjobs and those who are still young enough to work, do justthat - but abroad. They send money home to feed theirfamilies and to pay school fees¹¹ but at what cost? Would yoube able to leave your family behind to find work?
　　Visit us now at bbclearningenglish.com for some of thelanguage you’ll need to continue discussing today’sWeekender topic.

1 BBC   

abbr.（=British Broadcasting Corporation）英国广播公司

参考例句：

• She works for the BBC.她为英国广播公司工作。
• The BBC was founded in 1922.英国广播公司建于1922年。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 economy   

n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体

参考例句：

• We must do our best to develop the national economy.我们必须努力发展国民经济。
• The country's economy is not very healthy.国家的经济不很景气。

4 indirect   

adj.间接的，转弯抹角的，非直接的

参考例句：

• What he said was very indirect.他的话很婉转。
• He gave only an indirect answer.他只作了间接的回答。

5 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

6 source   

n.来源，水源；原始资料

参考例句：

• They mentioned you as a good source of information.他们说你消息灵通。
• All works of art have life as their source.一切文艺创作都来源于生活。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 legally   

adv. 合法地，法律上地

参考例句：

• A bill of exchange is a legally recognized document. 汇票是合法票据。
• The agreement will be legally binding. 这个协议将具有法律效力。

9 illegally   

adv.不法地

参考例句：

• We were alleged to have brought goods into the country illegally. 我们被指控非法携带货物入境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The landlady found they had been illegally subletting the flat. 女房东发现他们一直在违法转租公寓。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

11 fees   

费用； （加入组织或做某事付的）费( fee的名词复数 )； 专业服务费； 咨询费； 报酬

参考例句：

• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。
• As a scholar you will not have to pay college fees. 作为接受奖学金的学生，你不必付大学的费用。