Gifts that build wealth and gifts that cover necessities should be taxed differently

Evidence

Why not simply tackle the problem from a tax perspective and tax all gifts? If gifts contribute to the racial wealth gap, an easy solution might be to include them in the recipient’s taxable income. But taxing all gifts is once again creating tax policy with white experiences in mind to the detriment of black families. Gifts that lead to white wealth building are different from gifts that diminish black wealth building. Those giving and receiving them do not have the same ability to pay and should not be treated the same. Gifts that lead to wealth building, like money for a down payment on a home, should be included in taxable income; gifts that provide support for basic necessities and do not lead to wealth building should not. Horizontal and vertical equity should require nothing less. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 488

Categorization

• DEFINE: Lay friendly definitions of horizontal and vertical equity into the policy argument — clean, citable explanations of the two equity principles.
• SEED: A concrete reform proposal (differentiating wealth-building vs necessity gifts in taxable income) that could anchor a policy-essay angle.