An unprecedented $72 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer could fund reparations via tax reform

Evidence

Who is going to pay for it is precisely the type of question that the PtSD Commission will determine and make recommendations about. We can increase the deficit (as we did with the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which were received primarily by those with the highest incomes, who happened to be disproportionately white Americans). We can issue debt. We can tax the wealthy. According to the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, for the period between 2007 and 2061, it is estimated that almost 94 million estates will transfer approximately $72 trillion (using 2024 dollar amounts). We are at a unique moment in history, and tax policy can be a critical lever in creating a more equitable tomorrow. Estate tax reform, an income tax on millionaires (or billionaires), and a wealth tax are all possible sources of revenue and are logical sources, given their likely historical taint, that can be used to fund reparations. — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 562

Categorization

• XREF: Directly supports the reader’s goal of arguing the case — funding mechanism is a key defense point. Connects to estate/inheritance tax debates from Brown’s Whiteness of Wealth diagnosis.