New report exposes tax system’s role in widening racial wealth gap, calls for urgent reforms

Getty Images Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, and Americans for Tax Fairness released a damning report Sept. 5 exposing the deep racial inequities entrenched in the U.S. tax system. The issue brief “How Tax Fairness Can Promote Racial Equity,” written by Color of Change Managing Director Portia Allen-Kyle and Americans for Tax Fairness Executive Director David Kass, exposes the systemic flaws in tax policy that have widened the racial wealth gap and prevented economic mobility for Black, brown, and Indigenous communities. The report urgently calls for sweeping reforms to stop the flow of tax benefits to the wealthiest Americans — who are overwhelmingly white — while offering concrete solutions to make the tax code work for everyone, not just the top 1%. “An equitable tax system does two things,” Allen-Kyle asserted. “It narrows the racial wealth gap from the bottom up and spurs economic mobility for Black, brown, and Indigenous individuals and families. Our current tax code fails on both accounts. It’s a prime example of how so-called ‘colorblind’ systems actively prevent Black families from building generational wealth and economic security.” Tax Code Deepens Racial Disparities, Experts Say The brief pulls no punches in describing...