From the Atlanta Daily World:
Photo: Getty Images A Democratic lawmaker has suggested Black Americans be exempt from paying taxes as a form of reparations. During an appearance on the “Black Lawyers Podcast,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, set forth the proposal on reparations for Black Americans, per Fox News. Crockett told host J. Carter that a celebrity initially proposed the … Continued
The post Black People Shouldn’t Pay Taxes as Form of Reparations, Democrat Suggests appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.
Ooh, the downvotes are spicy. I bet the people against this are just fine with the billions in tax cuts for the hyperwealthy, while simultaneously not understanding how redlining was a way for racists to economically fuck over the black population for generations.
If anyone’s against this, tell me why and offer a better alternative.
I didn’t (and wouldn’t) down vote it, but I’ll bite.
To the extent that the US tax system is progressive, this would be putting the most money into the pockets of the portions of the Black community that are suffering the least from the latent effects of slavery and racism. This is truest of income tax.
Waiving sales tax would be better targeted. Unfortunately, it would most affect states and localities with the highest Black populations, with the side effect of reducing services to the exact people it was meant to help.
Even if sales tax is addressed (unlikely), this would probably be in the form of tax rebates. This probably means a once a year infusion of money, subject to all the same exploitation that currently impacts income tax refunds. (Edit: Also, sales tax rebate would likely still take income into account, and thus also be regressive. If it assumes all income is spent for determining the amount to rebate, it would be even more regressive than income tax exemption.)
Unless issues of structural racism are addressed in conjunction with this - issues like food deserts, differences in rates of home appreciation in predominantly black vs white neighborhoods, pollution burdens in predominantly black areas, education funding which is tied to those home values, and many other issues - the existing racist systems will suck that money back out of the Black community in ways that minimize the building of Black wealth. “Mission Accomplished” will be declared, and the political will to “do something” will need to be rebuilt from scratch.
Direct cash payments (monthly, like social security) come without the drawbacks of 1-3, are simpler, and will build up a type of immediate feeling of support that will be harder to withdraw at the end of the stated term, while also proving the case for universal basic income later. That would have knock-on effects for other exploited communities (LatinX immigrants, neurodivergent, deaf, disabled, etc).
Thank you, this was not a troll post so I appreciate the well structured, well thought-out rebuttal to this particular form of a solution. ∆
What do you think about a federal housing grant for minorities? It seems on the face of it like it would avoid many of the issues that come from messing with tax rates and even direct cash infusions like a rebate, while resolving food desert issues and getting more families the opportunity to build generational wealth.