Equity and the Tax Code

The tax code is one of the largest tools that the federal, state, and municipal governments have to provide families with economic security and wealth-building opportunities. Yet the tax code systematically disadvantages women, people of color, immigrants and low-income families. Homeowners with home mortgages get tax breaks, but we know that people of color have been systematically left out of homeownership opportunities; high-income earners with retirement and other savings get tax breaks, but we know that women and people of color are more likely to be in jobs that do not pay enough or do not offer retirement savings opportunities. Further, immigrant workers and families are increasingly excluded—either explicitly or implicitly—from these initiatives. These, and other tax code priorities, perpetuate the racial and gender economic gaps that exist in the U.S.

Want to learn more? 

Click here for links to a few of the many resources we’ve found helpful in thinking through the intersections between the tax code and racial, gender, and immigrant justice. 

• What is the racial wealth gap and how has the U.S. tax code helped perpetuate this gap?
• How has the U.S. tax code helped perpetuate the women’s wealth gap?
• Why is it important to tackle the gender and racial wealth divide together?
• What are some of the ways the tax code makes it more difficult for immigrants, especially those who are undocumented or in mixed-status families, to gain economic security and build assets?
• In the wake of recent federal tax shifts, how are states responding  – or how could states respond –  to ensure more broadly shared prosperity?
• What are some guiding principles for correcting upside down tax policies and making the tax code work for all?

We’ve been fortunate to be able to connect with Chris Brown, Financial Policy Director at PolicyLink; Erica Williams, Senior Director of State Policy Initiatives at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Amy Matsui, Director of Income Security and Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center; Emanuel Nieves, Senior Policy Manager at Prosperity Now and Francine Lipman, Professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to create a short video series that focuses on these questions and additional issues around equity and the tax code.

Chris Brown, Financial Policy Director at PolicyLink

What is the racial wealth gap and how has the U.S. tax code helped perpetuate this gap?

What are some guiding principles for correcting upside down tax policies and making the tax code work for all?

Erica Williams, Senior Director of State Policy Initiatives at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

What are some of the ways in which state and local fiscal policies intersect with issues of equity? 

In the wake of recent federal tax shifts, how are states responding  – or how could states respond – to ensure more broadly shared prosperity?

What are some of the ways in which women and people of color are disadvantaged by state and local tax systems and what is the role of tax credits in providing opportunity?

Amy Matsui, Director of Income Security and Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center

What is the women’s wealth gap and why does it exist?

How has the U.S. tax code helped perpetuate the women’s wealth gap? 

Why is it important to tackle the gender and racial wealth divide together?

What is the impact of the recent federal tax cuts on women and families?

Emanuel Nieves, Senior Policy Manager at Prosperity Now

What are some of the ways in which the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) exacerbates the ever-growing racial wealth divide? 

How does the quantitative analysis in the new Prosperity Now/ITEP study – Race, Wealth, and Taxes – add to our understanding of the racial implications of tax policy?

Access the paper here: https://prosperitynow.org/resources/race-wealth-and-taxes

What are the implications of investing in policies that perpetuate systemic racism and what are the tax policy solutions that we should be focusing on to advance equity? 

Francine Lipman, Professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

In what ways are undocumented immigrants interacting with the U.S. tax code?

What are some of the ways the tax code makes it more difficult for immigrants – especially those who are undocumented or in mixed-status families – to gain economic security and build assets?

What is on the horizon for child tax credits?

What are the issues that are especially pressing as immigrant families are filing their taxes this year?