Estate transfers of $72 trillion could fund reparations through tax reform

Evidence

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: The ‘historical taint’ of inherited wealth connects to the sundown-town and whiteness-as-inheritance threads; also echoes the Trump tax cuts’ racial skew.