Juneteenth And Tax Policy

Common Dreams, Juneteenth and the Need for a Reimagined, More Progressive Tax Code:

Policymakers can only make sensible decisions when they understand what the tax system’s shortcomings have done to Black communities.

Juneteenth is a reminder of the hard-fought victories that helped Black Americans secure their delayed freedom, justice, and suffrage. And in the chapters about tax policy, the tales are no less fraught. From America’s prologue to the last paragraph of the Civil War, governments raised more tax revenue from the taxation of Black bodies than any other source.

Though Black Americans are no longer taxed as property, their relationship with the property tax system remains challenging. Today, for instance, Black families pay more property taxes than white Americans who own comparable properties. Black people went from being literally taxed as property to being slighted by the property tax system – perpetuating deep economic inequality for a group of people who have always suffered on the soil of this land.

The good news is that progress has been made. Genuine tax equity is not only possible, but it’s within reach. ...

Policymakers can only make sensible decisions when they understand what the property tax system’s shortcomings have done to Black communities. Having inclusive conversations can reveal fundamental problems like inaccurate assessments, discriminatory appeals procedures, and a lack of consideration of ability to pay in setting property tax bills. Focusing on these issues would allow legislators and community advocates to reimagine a property tax system that does not exacerbate racial inequities. ...

[P]olicymakers should adopt antiracist and practical appraisal practices, use robust property tax circuit breaker programs, and implement and monitor fairer appeals practices to fix these ongoing issues. ...

Slavery remains America’s greatest sin and the tax policy stemming from it undermined Black people’s attempts to climb out of poverty, build wealth, and become truly free. Lawmakers cannot undo the past, but they can surely learn from it.

A key philosophy behind the American story is justice. Lawmakers must use that ethos for Black taxpayers in this latest section of the narrative. Juneteenth provides us with a chance to reflect on this history and begin writing a new chapter toward tax and racial justice.