Race-neutral tax reforms perpetuate racial wealth gaps unless they account for societal racism

Evidence

The marriage penalty that started this journey for me is just one example of many tax policies that have a disparate impact by race. Not every policy will impact every black family negatively, and not every disparity can be fixed by adjusting the law—we can change the way married couples are taxed, for example, but we also need to look at why it often takes two black workers to match the salary of one white worker. Until anti-black racism is eliminated, tax reforms will need to factor in societal racism. Just as an annual tax refund, invested through the years, can add up to true wealth-building opportunity, many of our tax policies, over time and without race-conscious reforms, are pushing black families down and pulling white families up. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 70

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why does it take two black workers to match one white worker’s salary — what structural mechanisms beyond education explain this?
• XREF: connects to: County revenue dependence aligned with racial-geographic segregation — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 80; Racial inequality shapes American tax outcomes, not just marriage, housing, and wages. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 38; Left-wing accounts explain the wealth gap as past discrimination plus compounding wealth — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 61 (+5 more)