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The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans—And How We Can Fix It
A groundbreaking exposé of racism in the American taxation system from a law professor and expert on tax policy
Dorothy Brown became a tax lawyer to get away from race. As a young black girl growing up in the South Bronx, she'd seen how racism limited the lives of her family and neighbors. Her law school classes offered a refreshing contrast: tax law was about numbers, and the only color that mattered was green. But when Brown sat down to prepare tax returns for her parents, she found something strange: James and Dottie Brown, a plumber and a nurse, seemed to be paying an unusually high percentage of their income in taxes. When Brown became a law professor, she set out to understand why.
In The Whiteness of Wealth, Brown draws on decades of cross-disciplinary research to show that tax law isn't as colorblind as she'd once believed. She takes us into her adopted city of Atlanta, introducing us to families across the economic spectrum whose stories demonstrate how American tax law rewards the preferences and practices of white people while pushing black people further behind. From attending college to getting married to buying a home, black Americans find themselves at a financial disadvantage compared to their white peers. The result is an ever-increasing wealth gap, and more black families shut out of the American dream.
Solving the problem will require a wholesale rethinking of America's tax code. But it will also require both black and white Americans to make different choices. This urgent, actionable book points the way forward.
Dorothy Brown became a tax lawyer to get away from race. As a young black girl growing up in the South Bronx, she'd seen how racism limited the lives of her family and neighbors. Her law school classes offered a refreshing contrast: tax law was about numbers, and the only color that mattered was green. But when Brown sat down to prepare tax returns for her parents, she found something strange: James and Dottie Brown, a plumber and a nurse, seemed to be paying an unusually high percentage of their income in taxes. When Brown became a law professor, she set out to understand why.
In The Whiteness of Wealth, Brown draws on decades of cross-disciplinary research to show that tax law isn't as colorblind as she'd once believed. She takes us into her adopted city of Atlanta, introducing us to families across the economic spectrum whose stories demonstrate how American tax law rewards the preferences and practices of white people while pushing black people further behind. From attending college to getting married to buying a home, black Americans find themselves at a financial disadvantage compared to their white peers. The result is an ever-increasing wealth gap, and more black families shut out of the American dream.
Solving the problem will require a wholesale rethinking of America's tax code. But it will also require both black and white Americans to make different choices. This urgent, actionable book points the way forward.
8 pages, Audiobook
First published March 23, 2021
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February 22, 2022
A rigorously researched book about the tax system and the racial inequities that have been built into the system. I learned a lot and it was very eye opening to see the ways that the various systems we live by are designed to hold certain groups back. It's like, you know this stuff is happening but to see it spelled out, to see how some people never have a chance to build wealth, is maddening. Highly recommend this book.
May 21, 2021
A powerful book about how anti-Black racism persists in the American taxation system and the many ways white individuals continue to accumulate wealth through their white privilege. Dorothy Brown writes with keen intelligence about the insidious racism in the tax system and financial structure of the United States, including but not limited to the lack of value ascribed to homes in Black neighborhoods, how the GI Bill and land grants denied awards to Black Americans, and how marriage benefits are designed to help out white married couples over Black married couples. She also writes about how wealth inequality affects Black Americans’ educational attainment and debt accumulation. She uses in-depth research to back up her points. I suspect what many people may appreciate about The Whiteness of Wealth is Brown’s inclusion of tangible action steps to ameliorate these issues, such as reparations, giving people wealth-based credits if race-based reparations are too radical for folks, and white people owning up to their privilege instead of minimizing or denying it.
I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it to those who want to learn more about how financial structures in the United States disadvantage Black Americans. I’m not sure if there’s really any way for Dorothy Brown to have made a book about tax systems more interesting given the mundanity of taxes at least in my mind, however, she definitely does her best such as by including her own lived experience and anecdotes from Black folks interspersed in the book.
I learned a lot from this book and would recommend it to those who want to learn more about how financial structures in the United States disadvantage Black Americans. I’m not sure if there’s really any way for Dorothy Brown to have made a book about tax systems more interesting given the mundanity of taxes at least in my mind, however, she definitely does her best such as by including her own lived experience and anecdotes from Black folks interspersed in the book.
December 5, 2021
4.5 stars -- My undergrad is in accounting, so perhaps I am just the ideal audience for a book like this, but I loved this one! Keep in mind that I am someone who enjoys the wonky details of an argument (a la You're Wrong About), and this delivered on that kind of discussion. I really enjoyed this deep dive into both the history of the US's tax code as well as exactly how rules that on their face are supposed to be equalizing, in practice end up penalizing one group over another. If you are also a numbers nerd interested in ways we can improve the lives of Black Americans, this is the book for you!
July 29, 2021
The Whiteness of Wealth is a great addition to the current slate of popular consciousness-raising books about the Black experience in the United States. Dorothy A. Brown is a law professor and tax policy expert who makes the case that taxation, schooling, housing and other financial systems have been carefully crafted to exclude Black Americans and make it harder for them, on average, to accumulate wealth. I've been rather surprised to see how strongly some people react to the title alone, launching into counter-arguments without having read the book. Brown is prepared for these objections and presents a thorough, nuanced and well-researched series of arguments that find the balance between statistical underpinning and personal narrative. I listened to this as an audiobook, which means some of the statistical values didn't stay in my mind as they might if I had seen them on the page, but I was able to at least look at a friend's copy later and see some of the helpful charts I had been missing.
You'll be forgiven (as I needed to be) for assuming that the tax system is fairly race-neutral, as it appears to be on paper, with equal opportunity for anyone to succeed. That's the American dream, right? Anyone can rise to the top with enough grit and effort. Brown demonstrates a lot of crafty ways, however, in which Blacks are constantly at a disadvantage. For example, filing jointly better serves a married couple with a single earner, whereas two earners with even the same net earnings (a more common situation for Black couples) end up paying more. Black earners are more likely to raid their savings to support their parents rather than their kids, assuring that less wealth is passed through the family. Housing value is driven down as Black occupancy increases in a neighborhood, making it harder for Black families to obtain houses, let alone reap the kind of investment that white people do. These differences can be measured in dollars. For-profit colleges saddle Black students with loans that do not equal the value of the degree (that particular chapter covered a lot of material I'd never heard). In these and many subtle ways, rules that don't explicitly punish Black people are still geared to disadvantage typical Black behavior. Brown highlights these distinctions, presents relevant statistics, and details the history that has led to the current situation.
Many seem to feel that admitting there are disadvantages for Black Americans is a referendum on their own efforts to get ahead, or makes their gains ill-gotten, and puts them on the defensive. That is not the point being made: getting by can be difficult for everyone, but there are material ways in which the system is particularly rigged against poor and especially Black Americans. Almost all of us have benefited from these discrepancies without consciously meaning to. And yes, Brown readily points out that poor whites and other racial groups are also disadvantaged, and that additional stories could be told about those communities, but there's a very specific and clear story to be told about Black wealth in the US, and that's what this book is here to accomplish.
It's often enough for a book to establish the problem, but I was impressed that Brown had so many ready potential solutions at hand. She acknowledges serious roadblocks to equity and progress - for example, legal challenges to many of these rules require demonstrating intent to disadvantage a particular group. That can be nearly impossible to prove, even when the statistics show the disparity to be real independent of intent. Brown presents a variety of personal behaviors to save wealth, avoid needless penalty, and even implement policy changes (such as a progressive tax system) that could begin to turn the tide in giving disadvantaged people a chance at being rewarded for their efforts. I found myself wishing I could appoint Brown to the Treasury. There's much food for thought here, and it's a relatively quick read for the depth of material it presents.
You'll be forgiven (as I needed to be) for assuming that the tax system is fairly race-neutral, as it appears to be on paper, with equal opportunity for anyone to succeed. That's the American dream, right? Anyone can rise to the top with enough grit and effort. Brown demonstrates a lot of crafty ways, however, in which Blacks are constantly at a disadvantage. For example, filing jointly better serves a married couple with a single earner, whereas two earners with even the same net earnings (a more common situation for Black couples) end up paying more. Black earners are more likely to raid their savings to support their parents rather than their kids, assuring that less wealth is passed through the family. Housing value is driven down as Black occupancy increases in a neighborhood, making it harder for Black families to obtain houses, let alone reap the kind of investment that white people do. These differences can be measured in dollars. For-profit colleges saddle Black students with loans that do not equal the value of the degree (that particular chapter covered a lot of material I'd never heard). In these and many subtle ways, rules that don't explicitly punish Black people are still geared to disadvantage typical Black behavior. Brown highlights these distinctions, presents relevant statistics, and details the history that has led to the current situation.
Many seem to feel that admitting there are disadvantages for Black Americans is a referendum on their own efforts to get ahead, or makes their gains ill-gotten, and puts them on the defensive. That is not the point being made: getting by can be difficult for everyone, but there are material ways in which the system is particularly rigged against poor and especially Black Americans. Almost all of us have benefited from these discrepancies without consciously meaning to. And yes, Brown readily points out that poor whites and other racial groups are also disadvantaged, and that additional stories could be told about those communities, but there's a very specific and clear story to be told about Black wealth in the US, and that's what this book is here to accomplish.
It's often enough for a book to establish the problem, but I was impressed that Brown had so many ready potential solutions at hand. She acknowledges serious roadblocks to equity and progress - for example, legal challenges to many of these rules require demonstrating intent to disadvantage a particular group. That can be nearly impossible to prove, even when the statistics show the disparity to be real independent of intent. Brown presents a variety of personal behaviors to save wealth, avoid needless penalty, and even implement policy changes (such as a progressive tax system) that could begin to turn the tide in giving disadvantaged people a chance at being rewarded for their efforts. I found myself wishing I could appoint Brown to the Treasury. There's much food for thought here, and it's a relatively quick read for the depth of material it presents.
January 31, 2021
Americans of all colors are waking up to the incredible amount of discrimination built right into its system. Blacks in the USA still must fight to even remain in the middle class because the taxation system is structured to boot them out. That is the premise of The Whiteness of Wealth, a clear, cogent, thorough and revealing work by a black tax lawyer, Dorothy Brown.
Americans generally know that black households have a fraction of the accumulated wealth of whites. But Brown goes behind the headline numbers to show not only how this came to be, but why it continues, why it must continue, and how much of a threat it remains to every new generation of blacks in America.
The book opens with a great line: ”I became a tax lawyer to get away from race.” Because you’d think taxes would be a safe haven where everyone gets the same treatment. But race issues are everywhere in taxation, and eventually, Brown took it upon herself to prove it by the numbers. It was a daunting task. For one thing, the Internal Revenue Service does not collect data by race. Every other conceivable datapoint – but not race. This has the salutary effect of preventing claims the system is unfair. Brown had to research a widely dispersed dataset, sometimes inferring race by zip code, and employing studies from which a single stat might help prove her generalized case. It is a very detailed, impressive piece of detective work and scholarship.
In case after case, she proves that the system is set up to benefit whites, at the expense of blacks. Blacks pay the same taxes, but don’t get the same benefits, for example. Famous cases are the GI Bill and land grants, both routinely denied awards to blacks. They are also routinely refused loans, grants, subsidies and lower interest rate mortgages, among others. Taxes paid by blacks go to subsidize whites in programs blacks cannot access. Brown says black families making over $300,000 a year are more likely to get a subprime mortgage than a white family making $30,000. White households headed by a high school dropout will show wealth of $34,700, while black households headed by a college graduate only show wealth of $23,400.
Among the many reasons Brown found for this was that black families must operate differently, and the tax laws do not take this into account, because they were written for whites. One big example is dependency. In white families, parents and grandparents aid children with tuition, house downpayments and gifts. In black families, the children support the parents and grandparents (and others). Support goes upwards through the generations, not downward towards the children. The result is little or no wealth accumulation. And that means no wealth-boosting transfers to the next generations.
In the chapter on housing, there is the usual litany of prejudice from redlining and subprime mortgages. But there is also the business of sales. Homes in predominantly black neighborhoods do not soar in value as they do in white areas. Worse, they are likely to lose value instead. But while profits from home sales are generally safe from taxation, losses are not even deductible against capital gains. So the net worth of black families can shrink every time they move.
Brown has studied it up and down, and has come to this point: “I propose to revise all homeownership subsidies to target them directly to those living in neighborhoods that are undervalued because of the race of their occupants. Those neighborhoods deserve government tax subsidies, because the government’s original discrimination against black Americans gave rise to the current discrimination perpetuated by private white homebuyers. Since 10 percent seems to be the magic number of black homeowners that makes a neighborhood lose value, homeowners living in neighborhoods with more than 10 percent black homeowners would be eligible for all current tax subsidies. Won’t that lead to gentrification? Well, a tax break could help offset rising property taxes, and keep black homeowners in place; and as we’ve seen, when black homeowners remain, neighborhoods are much less attractive to many white homeowners.”
A similar situation plays out in income taxes. Married couples have various marriage penalties to contend with in the antiquated US tax regime, but the one that hurts blacks most is the differential. For a couple where one works and the other doesn’t, taxes are reduced substantially. When both work and make about the same money, the tax bill is maximized. This is the trap blacks find themselves in, as a higher proportion of them must have both spouses working to make ends meet. For whites, it means one spouse provides free labor in childcare, upkeep, cooking and so on, completely untaxed. That’s the white way and it enriches them further, while blacks pay out more of their income.
Brown provides a remarkable chart showing the number of black families who benefit from marriage bonuses (MB), compared to those who suffer from marriage penalties (MP). It is not particularly pretty, but most readers will be seeing such a thing for the first time.
Blacks pay first class taxes for second class citizenship, she says. And it is so obvious and so serious, it is preventing essentially all progress for blacks to build wealth to pass on, such as a valuable home, investments, retirement plans and so on. Brown says “A 2015 Brookings Institution report titled ’Five Bleak Facts on Black Opportunity’ found that not only did most black American families fail to rise out of the middle class, their children were actually more likely to fall out of the middle class than they were to remain there. “ So this is known, but lawmakers are clearly not even attempting to deal with it.
Where then does all this come from? At bottom, it is selfish negligence. Lawmakers write statutes for whites and their situations and lifestyles, because that’s who they tend to be, and who (they think) they represent. Courts rule for whites who take issue with tax laws. But the results apply to all, whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians, whether their situations are appropriate for those tax laws or not.
Then, over the years, various lawmakers force changes (but not overhauls). They are influenced by lobbyists and high-powered supporters to change just one thing in a tax law – for their own benefit. These (white) influencers have no concern about unintended consequences. It has made the tax code so complex, convoluted and dense, there is no one in the world who can understand it all. But the ones who get the least benefit are blacks. As Brown summarizes it: “The American dream was never designed with us in mind.”
Brown is forceful, eloquent and quotable. She proves not only her tax chops, but her legal chops as well. She cites all manner of court decisions in showing how these tax laws came to be, and why it is nearly impossible to overturn them. The deck is stacked against blacks, so despite all the progress in breaking down racism and discrimination through, say, the Civil Rights Act, the very structure of the tax system fairly mandates their continued oppression.
The book is not all just complaining. Brown has thought through just how the statutes are prejudiced, and makes several recommendations for making them fairer. Her biggest effort though, is a recommendation for reparations. She details how it should work, how much it would cost, and the expected effects on society as a whole. Readers don’t have to agree, but this book is a comprehensive treatise, from problem to solution.
My only complaint is the repetition. Brown has strong points, but she keeps repeating them when they’ve already been thoroughly made. She also likes to repeat the same stories, mostly regarding her parents, who are poster children for the unfairness of the tax system (as well as racism in society). But her constant retelling of their stories is unnecessary. So the book suffers from the lack of a hardheaded editor’s pencil. This must not deter anyone from reading The Whiteness of Wealth. It is a powerfully written insight into a structural defect that keeps the country unequal.
David Wineberg
Americans generally know that black households have a fraction of the accumulated wealth of whites. But Brown goes behind the headline numbers to show not only how this came to be, but why it continues, why it must continue, and how much of a threat it remains to every new generation of blacks in America.
The book opens with a great line: ”I became a tax lawyer to get away from race.” Because you’d think taxes would be a safe haven where everyone gets the same treatment. But race issues are everywhere in taxation, and eventually, Brown took it upon herself to prove it by the numbers. It was a daunting task. For one thing, the Internal Revenue Service does not collect data by race. Every other conceivable datapoint – but not race. This has the salutary effect of preventing claims the system is unfair. Brown had to research a widely dispersed dataset, sometimes inferring race by zip code, and employing studies from which a single stat might help prove her generalized case. It is a very detailed, impressive piece of detective work and scholarship.
In case after case, she proves that the system is set up to benefit whites, at the expense of blacks. Blacks pay the same taxes, but don’t get the same benefits, for example. Famous cases are the GI Bill and land grants, both routinely denied awards to blacks. They are also routinely refused loans, grants, subsidies and lower interest rate mortgages, among others. Taxes paid by blacks go to subsidize whites in programs blacks cannot access. Brown says black families making over $300,000 a year are more likely to get a subprime mortgage than a white family making $30,000. White households headed by a high school dropout will show wealth of $34,700, while black households headed by a college graduate only show wealth of $23,400.
Among the many reasons Brown found for this was that black families must operate differently, and the tax laws do not take this into account, because they were written for whites. One big example is dependency. In white families, parents and grandparents aid children with tuition, house downpayments and gifts. In black families, the children support the parents and grandparents (and others). Support goes upwards through the generations, not downward towards the children. The result is little or no wealth accumulation. And that means no wealth-boosting transfers to the next generations.
In the chapter on housing, there is the usual litany of prejudice from redlining and subprime mortgages. But there is also the business of sales. Homes in predominantly black neighborhoods do not soar in value as they do in white areas. Worse, they are likely to lose value instead. But while profits from home sales are generally safe from taxation, losses are not even deductible against capital gains. So the net worth of black families can shrink every time they move.
Brown has studied it up and down, and has come to this point: “I propose to revise all homeownership subsidies to target them directly to those living in neighborhoods that are undervalued because of the race of their occupants. Those neighborhoods deserve government tax subsidies, because the government’s original discrimination against black Americans gave rise to the current discrimination perpetuated by private white homebuyers. Since 10 percent seems to be the magic number of black homeowners that makes a neighborhood lose value, homeowners living in neighborhoods with more than 10 percent black homeowners would be eligible for all current tax subsidies. Won’t that lead to gentrification? Well, a tax break could help offset rising property taxes, and keep black homeowners in place; and as we’ve seen, when black homeowners remain, neighborhoods are much less attractive to many white homeowners.”
A similar situation plays out in income taxes. Married couples have various marriage penalties to contend with in the antiquated US tax regime, but the one that hurts blacks most is the differential. For a couple where one works and the other doesn’t, taxes are reduced substantially. When both work and make about the same money, the tax bill is maximized. This is the trap blacks find themselves in, as a higher proportion of them must have both spouses working to make ends meet. For whites, it means one spouse provides free labor in childcare, upkeep, cooking and so on, completely untaxed. That’s the white way and it enriches them further, while blacks pay out more of their income.
Brown provides a remarkable chart showing the number of black families who benefit from marriage bonuses (MB), compared to those who suffer from marriage penalties (MP). It is not particularly pretty, but most readers will be seeing such a thing for the first time.
Blacks pay first class taxes for second class citizenship, she says. And it is so obvious and so serious, it is preventing essentially all progress for blacks to build wealth to pass on, such as a valuable home, investments, retirement plans and so on. Brown says “A 2015 Brookings Institution report titled ’Five Bleak Facts on Black Opportunity’ found that not only did most black American families fail to rise out of the middle class, their children were actually more likely to fall out of the middle class than they were to remain there. “ So this is known, but lawmakers are clearly not even attempting to deal with it.
Where then does all this come from? At bottom, it is selfish negligence. Lawmakers write statutes for whites and their situations and lifestyles, because that’s who they tend to be, and who (they think) they represent. Courts rule for whites who take issue with tax laws. But the results apply to all, whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians, whether their situations are appropriate for those tax laws or not.
Then, over the years, various lawmakers force changes (but not overhauls). They are influenced by lobbyists and high-powered supporters to change just one thing in a tax law – for their own benefit. These (white) influencers have no concern about unintended consequences. It has made the tax code so complex, convoluted and dense, there is no one in the world who can understand it all. But the ones who get the least benefit are blacks. As Brown summarizes it: “The American dream was never designed with us in mind.”
Brown is forceful, eloquent and quotable. She proves not only her tax chops, but her legal chops as well. She cites all manner of court decisions in showing how these tax laws came to be, and why it is nearly impossible to overturn them. The deck is stacked against blacks, so despite all the progress in breaking down racism and discrimination through, say, the Civil Rights Act, the very structure of the tax system fairly mandates their continued oppression.
The book is not all just complaining. Brown has thought through just how the statutes are prejudiced, and makes several recommendations for making them fairer. Her biggest effort though, is a recommendation for reparations. She details how it should work, how much it would cost, and the expected effects on society as a whole. Readers don’t have to agree, but this book is a comprehensive treatise, from problem to solution.
My only complaint is the repetition. Brown has strong points, but she keeps repeating them when they’ve already been thoroughly made. She also likes to repeat the same stories, mostly regarding her parents, who are poster children for the unfairness of the tax system (as well as racism in society). But her constant retelling of their stories is unnecessary. So the book suffers from the lack of a hardheaded editor’s pencil. This must not deter anyone from reading The Whiteness of Wealth. It is a powerfully written insight into a structural defect that keeps the country unequal.
David Wineberg
March 6, 2021
I am somewhat cautious in giving this a rating, because of my difficulty in bringing together my disparate feelings about the content of this book and its overall presentation. As a piece of purely academic writing, I found the book to be extremely educational about the structure - and thereby structural problems - of the American taxation system.
The book is extremely well-researched, and Dorothy Brown provides well-supported examples of the ways in which those with traditional sources of power in politics (i.e. whites) have used that power to shape the economic and taxation system to favour people who live 'their way'. To some degree, this could be attributed to a kind of benign administration - favouring one without intentionally disfavouring the other - however a lack of black voices and representation clearly has resulted in an unbalanced system.
I must admit that as a politically conservative - although socially liberal - person, I was surprised at my own reaction to the book. I was initially skeptical about what the book would entail when I received a copy. But having read it, I feel as though I gained a better understanding of the kind of ways that inequity can be writ by a system, even through pure indifference rather than actual malice.
With that being said, this work is not without problems. I was initially put off by the extensive introduction, which disposed me unfavourably towards the book. It seemed to me that as a university lecturer who had previously made a living as an investment banker and lawyer, Brown was uniquely qualified and unqualified to lecture the world on how the economic system disfavours African-Americans.
Some of the personal examples used by the author felt as though there was a giant chip riding on her shoulder that influences all of her perspective throughout the book. I found the chapter on the myth of education as a means of escape to be particularly troubling. Yes, there is an inherent problem with saddling young people with enormous debt as a result of their attempts to escape economic hardship. But there has to be an element of personal choice and responsibility which plays a role in life, and Brown doesn't appear to account for that.
I do not normally read/review academic writing, and therefore this review is somewhat bipolar in functioning as a review and a critique of the work. I found it educational, but also exhausting. I suspect that its intended audience - those in the corridors of power with the ability if not the political will to overhaul the system - will either find it empowering or extremely offensive depending on their side of politics.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The book is extremely well-researched, and Dorothy Brown provides well-supported examples of the ways in which those with traditional sources of power in politics (i.e. whites) have used that power to shape the economic and taxation system to favour people who live 'their way'. To some degree, this could be attributed to a kind of benign administration - favouring one without intentionally disfavouring the other - however a lack of black voices and representation clearly has resulted in an unbalanced system.
I must admit that as a politically conservative - although socially liberal - person, I was surprised at my own reaction to the book. I was initially skeptical about what the book would entail when I received a copy. But having read it, I feel as though I gained a better understanding of the kind of ways that inequity can be writ by a system, even through pure indifference rather than actual malice.
With that being said, this work is not without problems. I was initially put off by the extensive introduction, which disposed me unfavourably towards the book. It seemed to me that as a university lecturer who had previously made a living as an investment banker and lawyer, Brown was uniquely qualified and unqualified to lecture the world on how the economic system disfavours African-Americans.
Some of the personal examples used by the author felt as though there was a giant chip riding on her shoulder that influences all of her perspective throughout the book. I found the chapter on the myth of education as a means of escape to be particularly troubling. Yes, there is an inherent problem with saddling young people with enormous debt as a result of their attempts to escape economic hardship. But there has to be an element of personal choice and responsibility which plays a role in life, and Brown doesn't appear to account for that.
I do not normally read/review academic writing, and therefore this review is somewhat bipolar in functioning as a review and a critique of the work. I found it educational, but also exhausting. I suspect that its intended audience - those in the corridors of power with the ability if not the political will to overhaul the system - will either find it empowering or extremely offensive depending on their side of politics.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
April 13, 2021
This fluctuates between being an analysis of tax law, which is rather simplistic, but written with the tone that it is profound, and a rather shallow analysis of black wealth, of which there are much better examples. The first 50 or so pages is taken up in large part by pointing out that the marriage tax — where two spouses who earn approximately equal amounts are taxed more than a working and a non-working spouse — impacts blacks more than whites because there are more equally earning couples among blacks than whites. (Among other reasons, white men can get higher paying jobs which permits their spouses not to work.).
Unlike many of the laws which Heather McGee points out in The Sum of Us, none of the tax laws Brown mentions seem to have racist intent, just racist effect. In large part that appears because blacks have less accumulated wealth than whites and the tax laws favor the accumulation and passing of wealth. There is nothing wrong with her analysis that the tax laws contribute some portion to the inequality between the races, since the tax laws disproportionately favor those with wealth and penalize poorer people. Loopholes and deductions have traditionally been made for the rich, after all. To the extent that there is a huge wealth gap in this country (and there is) blacks suffer from not being able to take advantage of (bad) tax policy that has benefited the wealthy and keeps the poor poor. This is awful policy, and it does enhance (but not create) systemic racism, simply by making it more difficult to recover from, but she doesn't make clear that tax policy is a significant factor, and she wanders between tax policy and other causes.
The conclusory chapter which makes some suggestions, which range from broad policy — salaries should be disclosed to prevent salary discrimination — to minimum income as a form for reparations which if not directed at blacks will disproportionately benefit them in the same way the current tax law harms them, makes some salient, interesting suggestions to consider. But the book itself is neither fish nor foul, and thus a bit of a stew -- something to fill up on, but nothing to recommend.
April 16, 2021
I did not expect to be engrossed with a book about tax law, of all subjects, but yet I was. This book is exceptionally well done. Dorothy Brown clearly knows her subject matter, but she wrote about it in a way that was incredibly engaging, informative and easy to understand. I also appreciated how she wove in anecdotes about her own family and life; it was just the right amount to drive home the larger points of the book. Definitely recommend for people who want to learn more about institutional/systemic racism.
April 12, 2021
At its basis, this is a great thought provoking book about the unintended consequences of our tax law. A lot of the book was redundant and circular, but I think that only underlines how all the pieces work together. I did feel some of the examples presented were a bit suspect. For example: white homeownership increased from 45.7% to 64% between 1940 and 1960. That is an increase of 1.4times. During the same time Black homeownership increased from 22.8% to 38.4%. That is an increase of 1.68times. (And, the difference between Black and White ownership decreased from 50% to 40%.) But, instead of commenting that the ratio for Blacks was increasing at a faster rate (and might potentially catch up for White ownership), Ms. Brown focuses on comparing the absolute percentages. I am not saying that there isn't an issue here, but I felt the emphasis was a bit misleading. Likewise, in a few instances, a plan for change is proposed but then discarded because it would also benefit White families. I felt this was a bit too similar to the how many White conservatives were willing to go without health insurance out of fear that a minority or immigrant might also get healthcare through the same opportunity as discussed in (Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland. But none of this should detract from the basic point of the book: tax law as it stands today is discriminatory. It needs to be changed to be equitable to all Americans, not just Black American as Ms. Brown suggests.
Thanks to Crown Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to Crown Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
July 2, 2021
This is out of touch, it should be nonfiction. There is no racism in taxes. The thought that white people have people paying for colleges, giving house down payments, well have more advantages and tax breaks is appalling to me.
No Matter what the color of your skin the rules are the same. To be frank everything should be like taxes! No place to say what race you are. The truth is the majority of people are more than one race. I have a freind that his mom is mixed and his dad is white. He is darker than the rest of his family. He is tired of having to chose or mark other.
Just FYI, my wife and I both work. My parents both worked. I was at a huge disadvantage for college. My parents made to much for government sponsored student loans at the time. I had to drop out of college because of money. I had to fight to do everything i could to get my degree. My wife and i bought our first home on a FHA loan. No one gaves us anything.
The problems are not about race its about the middle class! If you are in a lower tax bracket or a higher tax bracket you have more benefits available to you.
This book is the problem. You want rid of racism stop asking the question.
No Matter what the color of your skin the rules are the same. To be frank everything should be like taxes! No place to say what race you are. The truth is the majority of people are more than one race. I have a freind that his mom is mixed and his dad is white. He is darker than the rest of his family. He is tired of having to chose or mark other.
Just FYI, my wife and I both work. My parents both worked. I was at a huge disadvantage for college. My parents made to much for government sponsored student loans at the time. I had to drop out of college because of money. I had to fight to do everything i could to get my degree. My wife and i bought our first home on a FHA loan. No one gaves us anything.
The problems are not about race its about the middle class! If you are in a lower tax bracket or a higher tax bracket you have more benefits available to you.
This book is the problem. You want rid of racism stop asking the question.
March 26, 2021
A powerful insight of racism in American taxation system that is not colorblind as perceived. The book opens with Dorothy Brown, a professor focused on tax law and how she pursued tax law to escape from racism. As the author studied and taught students about this subject matter, questions began to circulate on why her dad, a plumber and her mother, a nurse paid an unusually high percentage of their income in taxes. Through well-extensive research, Dorothy Brown exposes how U.S. tax policies fuels the Black-white wealth gap.
The author delivers illuminating factual information on the nature of U.S. economic oppression through detailed data analysis, brief history on tax policy and personal anecdotes. Tax system fairly is like a foreign language to me where I only hold a bare minimum basic knowledge. Therefore, I praise Dorothy Brown for her knowledge and impeccable writing in conveying and breaking down U.S. economic policies and data in a simpler and easier to understand format, pointing out the root of the issue and leading up to possible solutions in reforms to tackle racial inequality. The only comment about this book is that some of the points she made were repetitive. For the majority of readers it could be considered in a negative light, however for readers like myself I didn't mind at all because the repeated information helped me to digest and understand the important points Dorothy was sharing. The author extensively digs deep into tax policies that relate to most American life such as housing, marriage, education, work and more that was both eye-opening and enlightening. A captivating outlook on the power in politics and the lack of representation that creates the ever-increasing wealth gap and unequal opportunity in our so-called American dream. An educational and awe-inspiring reading experience that is an essential read for all.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The author delivers illuminating factual information on the nature of U.S. economic oppression through detailed data analysis, brief history on tax policy and personal anecdotes. Tax system fairly is like a foreign language to me where I only hold a bare minimum basic knowledge. Therefore, I praise Dorothy Brown for her knowledge and impeccable writing in conveying and breaking down U.S. economic policies and data in a simpler and easier to understand format, pointing out the root of the issue and leading up to possible solutions in reforms to tackle racial inequality. The only comment about this book is that some of the points she made were repetitive. For the majority of readers it could be considered in a negative light, however for readers like myself I didn't mind at all because the repeated information helped me to digest and understand the important points Dorothy was sharing. The author extensively digs deep into tax policies that relate to most American life such as housing, marriage, education, work and more that was both eye-opening and enlightening. A captivating outlook on the power in politics and the lack of representation that creates the ever-increasing wealth gap and unequal opportunity in our so-called American dream. An educational and awe-inspiring reading experience that is an essential read for all.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2021
Very good analysis of how the structure of the american economy leads to disparate results for Black families in comparison with white families. This book really feels like it was written for Black people, so this may lead it to not get the media blize associated with some other anti-racism books, but it is much better than many of those more mainstream texts. The author has done a great job of presenting concrete analysis of these disparities and concrete solutions, meaningfully engaging opposing arguments. One of the biggest frutrations I have is the superficial way some authors address the concept of reperations, failing to explain how their stratagies would pass Supreme Court scrutiny. By arguing for a refundable tax credit based upon wealth, the author meainfully address this concern, and address the real limitations of her approaches, including the reality that white folks would benifit from this stratagy and some of her recomedations around housing support for low wealth neighborhoods might lead to gentrification. This sort of candor and measured analysis is too often not rewarded in the current knoweldge marketplace. She offer hard to hear but practical advise around Black wealth creation which will no doubt be seen as contravertial by some (advising her Black cleints from spedning their entire housing budget on a house in a majority Black neighborhood given the emperical history of these houses depreciating in value) which will run afoul of the "manifest your blessings" crowd who might deem such analysis as defeatest, but working class people looking for real solution will appreciate the cador, and unlike other text, the author does not present financial literacy as a solution, but a survival stratagy for the short term as we work for structrural change, which the author not only presents, but also gives stragic advise on how to push these political changes.
July 15, 2021
Incredibly informative read.
May 23, 2021
This book is so well written, thoughtful, and clear in making the argument about whiteness in the tax system. Prof. Brown uses her experience with her parents' tax preparation to take readers on a journey to explain why and how Black tax payers are paying more than equivalent white tax payers. This is a great example of how systemic racism really takes place in everyday lives of Americans.
March 26, 2021
I read to halfway and then finally gave up. I had been contacted by an editor through NetGalley suggesting that since I had thoroughly enjoyed Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste, I might enjoy this one, but I didn’t. It read like a textbook and so much of it went right over my head. It was long and repetitive and I got lost between the chapters which all seemed to say the same thing - there is disparity between the races and it favors Whites. But I already knew that.
My one take-away will be the quandary of housing. Do you live in a predominantly Black neighborhood and enjoy the culture that goes with it and accept the poor quality of education in the schools, or do you move into a nice neighborhood where no one looks like you but your kids go to good schools? I wish she had written more vignettes like that and cut back on the numbers.
My one take-away will be the quandary of housing. Do you live in a predominantly Black neighborhood and enjoy the culture that goes with it and accept the poor quality of education in the schools, or do you move into a nice neighborhood where no one looks like you but your kids go to good schools? I wish she had written more vignettes like that and cut back on the numbers.
April 26, 2021
I read a lot of books about both race and wealth inequality because they're subjects of interest. Ms. Brown's book is firmly in my wheelhouse, and I'm glad to have read it. But I can't recommend it as a starting place for the casual reader. In a nutshell, it's super wonky. Ms. Brown delves deep into the minutia of tax code and other related topics like real estate and higher education. The lady knows her stuff, and makes compelling, data-driven arguments. Nor is the book overly long--though a page-turner, it's not. No, it's exactly what I said, a knowledgeable deep dive into the ways--wittingly and unwittingly--the American government has stacked the deck against people of color. If you want to learn more, this is the next level, but just know what you're getting into before you take the plunge on this one.
May 13, 2024
Amazing read! This is what will now come to mind with the words "systemic racism." It is incredibly informative with anecdotes from all sides that keep it understandable and from getting to dry.
I love that she proposes solutions for almost every problem that she talks about, and I also love how current it is and how she points out pros and cons of all proposed solutions that we heard about in the 2020 primaries. I am interested to see how much of Brown's ideas will find there way into our next political primaries.
This book started to fill in a huge blind spot for me, and I will now definitely be thinking often about all the ways the tax system has benefited me and my family.
I love that she proposes solutions for almost every problem that she talks about, and I also love how current it is and how she points out pros and cons of all proposed solutions that we heard about in the 2020 primaries. I am interested to see how much of Brown's ideas will find there way into our next political primaries.
This book started to fill in a huge blind spot for me, and I will now definitely be thinking often about all the ways the tax system has benefited me and my family.
April 6, 2021
Stop crying the blues... get a job , keep it and pay your bills. this book is terrible. maybe should explain how to write a resume instead.
February 27, 2023
Highly informative and well-cited in research, this book covers several specific areas of the tax code and how this system disproportionately benefits the wealthy (read:white) and penalizes lower income people (with this book focusing exclusively on the impact to Black Americans). While I knew some of these ideas in theory (like redlining and ways Black people were kept out of home ownership as a means to build wealth, for example), it was useful to see the impact in more detail and also with her thought provoking ideas and questions she raises (like why do we tax-incentivize personal choices people make like buying a home or getting married).
My only complaint would be that so much of this is so data heavy, I would have appreciated a lot more charts and graphs to illustrate those points. It made it a slog to get through at points, but I still highly recommend it, just be prepared to take it slowly if you’re like me and can’t absorb paragraphs of statistics as easily.
My only complaint would be that so much of this is so data heavy, I would have appreciated a lot more charts and graphs to illustrate those points. It made it a slog to get through at points, but I still highly recommend it, just be prepared to take it slowly if you’re like me and can’t absorb paragraphs of statistics as easily.
March 30, 2021
Eye opening how the federal tax code has systemically prohibited black families from getting ahead, while individual wealthy white people have been able to make the IRS bend to their will all throughout the history of this country’s taxation. If you are black, chances are you are paying for more than your fair share of taxes. The author outlines great policy recommendations: support a return to individual tax filing, get the IRS to start publishing numbers by race, give reparations based on the tax code. She also has to unfortunately offer black families tools to make the most of our current tax system: get married at the beginning of the calendar year, don’t use your full housing budget to purchase a home in a predominately non-white neighborhood, and pay attention to what candidates support which tax reforms.
April 18, 2021
This is an engaging read that contained a lot of information that was new to me. I've been against many tax deductions, including the mortgage interest deduction, for a long time, but this book gave me a new perspective. Did you know that the marriage penalty, which I usually hear high income couples griping on, disproportionately affects lower income Black Americans, because Black couples are more likely to be dual income? I did not!
Although Brown focuses on the Black- White gap, I think a lot of this analysis is also applicable to immigrant - native born and female - male, any system where generational wealth accrues disproportionately. If you're interested in combating structural inequities in the workplace, housing, education, or finances, this book is a must-read. It's remarkable how much can be done just through tax reform.
Although Brown focuses on the Black- White gap, I think a lot of this analysis is also applicable to immigrant - native born and female - male, any system where generational wealth accrues disproportionately. If you're interested in combating structural inequities in the workplace, housing, education, or finances, this book is a must-read. It's remarkable how much can be done just through tax reform.
June 7, 2021
The book is persuasive and well-argued, but because my particular interests lie elsewhere, the deep dive into tax law didn't engage me fully. I would recommend "Caste" or "The Color of Law" over this one for most lay readers.
Read
September 10, 2023Not sure if I want to rate this 4 or 5 stars. Very important information that is clearly articulated. Love that it included a call to action for white Americans. Was just pretty dense and academic for my pea brain.
Would love to read more from this author/subject.
Would love to read more from this author/subject.
February 19, 2024
whiteness of wealth
Very informative, however following all the figures was sometimes confusing, especially chapter 1 on taxes. It is a book black American should read to find solutions to close the wealth gap.
Very informative, however following all the figures was sometimes confusing, especially chapter 1 on taxes. It is a book black American should read to find solutions to close the wealth gap.
September 21, 2021
Really incredible book by tax scholar Dorothy Brown about how tax policy exacerbates the Black-white wealth gap. Brown explains in very clear terms how diversity in hiring and equality in salary alone will not result in Black wealth accumulation where so much of the tax code was created exclusively for rich white families.
Some personal narrative interwoven with the tax explanations made what could have been a dense read quite powerful. Brown discusses her mother's own sacrifices for her and her sister and how things like the marriage tax benefit have historically hurt dual income Black households more than benefited them. She discusses individuals' stories in working off never-ending debt from for-profit colleges, the tribulations with the earned income tax credit, capital gains tax, housing, stocks!, and a dizzying array of other ways that the tax code has been poised disproportionately against Black families. It is particularly distressful, though not surprising, that one of the wealthiest men in the early 20th c. was responsible for some present-day tax policy because he wanted to pay less.
This book has two audiences: one for the Black reader that names the frustrations of generational wealth accumulation in Black families. At the conclusion of the book, Brown speaks directly to this reader to give advice in a very straightforward manner on certain long-term financial decisions within the current tax framework. She also gives tangible policy ideas for advocates to tackle with legislators (and ones that are thought likely to pass constitutional muster under the current supreme court). The IRS must publish tax stats by race to start.
Going to quote from an interview Brown gave to give her proposal: "What my ideal tax system would be, which would not advantage white people or disadvantage Black people, is one where pretty much all income is taxed under the same progressive rate system; we get rid of these deductions and exclusions that are overwhelmingly benefiting white Americans. And then we would create one deduction — I call it a living allowance — that’s based on what you would need to live in the geographical area you’re in. It’s not minimum wage, because in many places, that’s not enough, but it’s what you would need to live. Any amount in excess of that, you would pay tax at the progressive tax rate. Any amount below that, the government sends your check. You can make an analogy to an expanded earned income tax credit.
"And then I want to compensate Black Americans for all the decades of higher taxes we’ve paid. My ideal would be a reparations tax credit; unfortunately, the Supreme Court would find that unconstitutional [because the tax code’s discriminatory impact alone would likely not be able to sway the Court, and proving the explicit intent to make Black taxpayers pay more would be difficult]. So my next best alternative would be a wealth tax credit that would apply to any taxpayer, regardless of race, that was in a household with below-median wealth. And that’s going to disproportionately benefit Black Americans because of the racial wealth gap. Another way to look at it is that people are talking about a wealth tax. I look at it from the other end — I want to put money in the hands of low-wealth households."
The other audience is the white reader. Brown acknowledges throughout the book that Black families are not the only victim to a shitty tax code, low-income whites also hurt, but she reiterates that it is disproportionately Black families that suffer from these policies. Brown also notes with some shock how no white individuals she interviewed, who had benefited from the current tax code, wanted to be named in her book and how this speaks to their failure to acknowledge the economic privileges they had (e.g. parental support in college, friends/family who can loan them money). Brown implores whites to take on the fight for racial/wealth justice in the tax realm and to recognize that wealth is not always earned by individual success, but rather individual success may be more regularly found in some generational wealth. This wealth has been denied Black families and it's time for the tax code to remedy some of the historical harm.
Some personal narrative interwoven with the tax explanations made what could have been a dense read quite powerful. Brown discusses her mother's own sacrifices for her and her sister and how things like the marriage tax benefit have historically hurt dual income Black households more than benefited them. She discusses individuals' stories in working off never-ending debt from for-profit colleges, the tribulations with the earned income tax credit, capital gains tax, housing, stocks!, and a dizzying array of other ways that the tax code has been poised disproportionately against Black families. It is particularly distressful, though not surprising, that one of the wealthiest men in the early 20th c. was responsible for some present-day tax policy because he wanted to pay less.
This book has two audiences: one for the Black reader that names the frustrations of generational wealth accumulation in Black families. At the conclusion of the book, Brown speaks directly to this reader to give advice in a very straightforward manner on certain long-term financial decisions within the current tax framework. She also gives tangible policy ideas for advocates to tackle with legislators (and ones that are thought likely to pass constitutional muster under the current supreme court). The IRS must publish tax stats by race to start.
Going to quote from an interview Brown gave to give her proposal: "What my ideal tax system would be, which would not advantage white people or disadvantage Black people, is one where pretty much all income is taxed under the same progressive rate system; we get rid of these deductions and exclusions that are overwhelmingly benefiting white Americans. And then we would create one deduction — I call it a living allowance — that’s based on what you would need to live in the geographical area you’re in. It’s not minimum wage, because in many places, that’s not enough, but it’s what you would need to live. Any amount in excess of that, you would pay tax at the progressive tax rate. Any amount below that, the government sends your check. You can make an analogy to an expanded earned income tax credit.
"And then I want to compensate Black Americans for all the decades of higher taxes we’ve paid. My ideal would be a reparations tax credit; unfortunately, the Supreme Court would find that unconstitutional [because the tax code’s discriminatory impact alone would likely not be able to sway the Court, and proving the explicit intent to make Black taxpayers pay more would be difficult]. So my next best alternative would be a wealth tax credit that would apply to any taxpayer, regardless of race, that was in a household with below-median wealth. And that’s going to disproportionately benefit Black Americans because of the racial wealth gap. Another way to look at it is that people are talking about a wealth tax. I look at it from the other end — I want to put money in the hands of low-wealth households."
The other audience is the white reader. Brown acknowledges throughout the book that Black families are not the only victim to a shitty tax code, low-income whites also hurt, but she reiterates that it is disproportionately Black families that suffer from these policies. Brown also notes with some shock how no white individuals she interviewed, who had benefited from the current tax code, wanted to be named in her book and how this speaks to their failure to acknowledge the economic privileges they had (e.g. parental support in college, friends/family who can loan them money). Brown implores whites to take on the fight for racial/wealth justice in the tax realm and to recognize that wealth is not always earned by individual success, but rather individual success may be more regularly found in some generational wealth. This wealth has been denied Black families and it's time for the tax code to remedy some of the historical harm.
July 15, 2021
(3.5)
Don't be fooled by my numerical rating. Dorothy Brown is an important voice in the conversation regarding the racial wealth gap in the U.S. In fact, if the premise of her book were exactly on that topic, I would rate the book between a 4 and 4.5.
However, from the subtitle "How The Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans and How We Can Fix It", her stated focus is specifically on how U.S. tax policy is specifically detrimental to black Americans. Here, I think her analysis fell short for a number of reasons. Brown posits that issues of economic inequality are a function of race, not class. She begins with the marriage penalty, which has mostly been done away with except for those at the lowest and highest income levels. For the lowest income levels, the marriage penalty exists and Brown explains how a disproportionate number of people in this income bracket are black Americans. Yet, as she later explains the difference between income and wealth, she gives examples of white Americans who are wealthy but low-income, who would therefore also be subject to the marriage penalty. The contradiction exists because in the latter example, she is relying on anecdotal data which is my biggest gripe with her book.
She also explains how the Seaborns filed a fraudulent tax return which, after a lawsuit, lead to the creation of community property states. I have no opinion regarding the morality and usefulness of a state being designated as community property, but the fact remains that as of 2021 only 9 out of 50 US states are CP so I'm not clear on the focus other than to illuminate how white privilege has impacted modern tax policy (and she certainly makes a strong empirical case here.)
She explains roadblocks to black wealth accumulation including racial bias in hiring and the workplace, not graduating college coupled with student loan debt, the family structure (economic support of parents), and gentrification. She compares data between black and white Americans (which ignores all of the other populations) but I believe if she compared lower-income to higher income, the results would be similar. Her solutions (spoiler!) to these complex issues include eliminating all deductions and exclusions, no MFJ status, and including all tax-privileged sources of income as taxable income (including the coveted home gains exclusion.) Other than eliminating the special capital gains rate, these solutions do little to go after the ultra-wealthy like Jeff Bezos, and instead impact middle class Americans. FYI, the capital gains rate for a MFJ couple making less than $80k/yr is 0%. Since she encourages black Americans to invest in the stock market, why would she want to get rid of a preferential rate that would impact those who would most benefit?
Her best proposal was to have a wealth credit to all Americans who have less than a certain wealth, but she only suggests that because her primary solution, annual large tax-credits to black Americans, would be challenged by the Supreme Court for being race-based. Why not also have a wealth tax on the ultra-wealthy? She would also like for the IRS to collect racial data so they can see and deal with the disparities, but her solution involves them identifying people by zip code and how black/white their last name sounds. What about biracial Americans and other ethnic groups?
As I said earlier, my biggest issue with the book was when she would use anecdotal data as evidence of her point (regardless of that fact that I happen to agree with many of her conclusions.) When I walk away from this book, I'm left thinking how bad poor people have it in our country, and that lower-income black Americans have it worse based on the barriers she described. If she writes another book, I will probably read it but I hope she makes a stronger case for whatever her point is because she is intelligent and has done a lot of research in the field.
Don't be fooled by my numerical rating. Dorothy Brown is an important voice in the conversation regarding the racial wealth gap in the U.S. In fact, if the premise of her book were exactly on that topic, I would rate the book between a 4 and 4.5.
However, from the subtitle "How The Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans and How We Can Fix It", her stated focus is specifically on how U.S. tax policy is specifically detrimental to black Americans. Here, I think her analysis fell short for a number of reasons. Brown posits that issues of economic inequality are a function of race, not class. She begins with the marriage penalty, which has mostly been done away with except for those at the lowest and highest income levels. For the lowest income levels, the marriage penalty exists and Brown explains how a disproportionate number of people in this income bracket are black Americans. Yet, as she later explains the difference between income and wealth, she gives examples of white Americans who are wealthy but low-income, who would therefore also be subject to the marriage penalty. The contradiction exists because in the latter example, she is relying on anecdotal data which is my biggest gripe with her book.
She also explains how the Seaborns filed a fraudulent tax return which, after a lawsuit, lead to the creation of community property states. I have no opinion regarding the morality and usefulness of a state being designated as community property, but the fact remains that as of 2021 only 9 out of 50 US states are CP so I'm not clear on the focus other than to illuminate how white privilege has impacted modern tax policy (and she certainly makes a strong empirical case here.)
She explains roadblocks to black wealth accumulation including racial bias in hiring and the workplace, not graduating college coupled with student loan debt, the family structure (economic support of parents), and gentrification. She compares data between black and white Americans (which ignores all of the other populations) but I believe if she compared lower-income to higher income, the results would be similar. Her solutions (spoiler!) to these complex issues include eliminating all deductions and exclusions, no MFJ status, and including all tax-privileged sources of income as taxable income (including the coveted home gains exclusion.) Other than eliminating the special capital gains rate, these solutions do little to go after the ultra-wealthy like Jeff Bezos, and instead impact middle class Americans. FYI, the capital gains rate for a MFJ couple making less than $80k/yr is 0%. Since she encourages black Americans to invest in the stock market, why would she want to get rid of a preferential rate that would impact those who would most benefit?
Her best proposal was to have a wealth credit to all Americans who have less than a certain wealth, but she only suggests that because her primary solution, annual large tax-credits to black Americans, would be challenged by the Supreme Court for being race-based. Why not also have a wealth tax on the ultra-wealthy? She would also like for the IRS to collect racial data so they can see and deal with the disparities, but her solution involves them identifying people by zip code and how black/white their last name sounds. What about biracial Americans and other ethnic groups?
As I said earlier, my biggest issue with the book was when she would use anecdotal data as evidence of her point (regardless of that fact that I happen to agree with many of her conclusions.) When I walk away from this book, I'm left thinking how bad poor people have it in our country, and that lower-income black Americans have it worse based on the barriers she described. If she writes another book, I will probably read it but I hope she makes a stronger case for whatever her point is because she is intelligent and has done a lot of research in the field.
April 15, 2021
I was skeptical about a book subtitled How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans, when the tax system doesn’t even know a taxpayer’s race. The subtitle was probably meant to be provocative, though I have no doubt author Dorothy Brown would defend its accuracy, even in the absence of data in direct support (because tax data by race is simply not collected).
Dorothy Brown is a law professor at Emory who went into tax law thinking that race wasn’t part of it. Over time, she concluded that “there’s nothing in this country that race and racism aren’t a part of.” So how does racism pervade a race-blind tax system? By rewarding acquired wealth in a way that super-disproportionately benefits whites (deduction for mortgage interest but not for rent, income exclusion for gain on house sale but no deduction for losses, lower rate on non-wage income (dividends, capital gain), joint filing rules that benefit the one-earner/one stay-at-home pattern (associated far more often with wealthy white households) over the two equal earners pattern (more often found in lower-wealth Black households) and that further benefits whites by allowing accumulated wealth to be passed on to future generations while Blacks not only don’t receive inherited wealth but damage their own wealth accumulation by supporting parents and grandparents—reverse “wealth” distribution. This, in turn, leaves Blacks burdened with higher debt, less access to education, and add-on impacts on jobs, health care, retirement savings, home ownership.
Recognizing that tax laws cannot outright prefer Blacks over whites, Brown makes several recommendations from the relatively basic (no joint returns—every person reports their own income) to the provocative (all income is taxed, and taxed the same—e.g., inheritance, gifts, gain on house sale, capital gains and dividends), to the radical (a sort of reparations deduction for low-wealth (not low-income, because low-income whites still have out-sized access to wealth).
She further proposes race-based tax data collection, best achieved by Big Data deep dives by zip code, surname and other reasonable predictions of Black versus non-Black.
Lots to ponder. My skepticism largely faded when I understood the point Brown was trying to make. While the research seemed solid, I was surprised by a few editorial glitches such as reference to the Homestead Act of 1872 (it was 1862), and graphs with no labels on X- and Y- axis. I guess we were to assume similar to prior graphs.
Dorothy Brown is a law professor at Emory who went into tax law thinking that race wasn’t part of it. Over time, she concluded that “there’s nothing in this country that race and racism aren’t a part of.” So how does racism pervade a race-blind tax system? By rewarding acquired wealth in a way that super-disproportionately benefits whites (deduction for mortgage interest but not for rent, income exclusion for gain on house sale but no deduction for losses, lower rate on non-wage income (dividends, capital gain), joint filing rules that benefit the one-earner/one stay-at-home pattern (associated far more often with wealthy white households) over the two equal earners pattern (more often found in lower-wealth Black households) and that further benefits whites by allowing accumulated wealth to be passed on to future generations while Blacks not only don’t receive inherited wealth but damage their own wealth accumulation by supporting parents and grandparents—reverse “wealth” distribution. This, in turn, leaves Blacks burdened with higher debt, less access to education, and add-on impacts on jobs, health care, retirement savings, home ownership.
Recognizing that tax laws cannot outright prefer Blacks over whites, Brown makes several recommendations from the relatively basic (no joint returns—every person reports their own income) to the provocative (all income is taxed, and taxed the same—e.g., inheritance, gifts, gain on house sale, capital gains and dividends), to the radical (a sort of reparations deduction for low-wealth (not low-income, because low-income whites still have out-sized access to wealth).
She further proposes race-based tax data collection, best achieved by Big Data deep dives by zip code, surname and other reasonable predictions of Black versus non-Black.
Lots to ponder. My skepticism largely faded when I understood the point Brown was trying to make. While the research seemed solid, I was surprised by a few editorial glitches such as reference to the Homestead Act of 1872 (it was 1862), and graphs with no labels on X- and Y- axis. I guess we were to assume similar to prior graphs.
May 22, 2021
Well worth the read.
The whole system was created for and by white Americans, some specifically designed to subjugate black Americans as second class citizens. The author goes from tax law, its history and affects, to education, the housing markets and so on to show definitively as she can, just how rigged for white people everything is. We don’t nor ever have lived in a meritocracy, it’s all rigged for white gain and black loss.
Some of the tax info went a little over my head, but she does a great job of explaining it all, overall. She gives ample examples of what and how she means any given topic.
I have to say for much of this I felt really hopeless and frustrated. But, the author also lays down some possible solutions Congress can enact, as well as individual people and families. There’s a lot to be angry about, but there’s a little hope in the future. A bit. And it can grow.
The whole system was created for and by white Americans, some specifically designed to subjugate black Americans as second class citizens. The author goes from tax law, its history and affects, to education, the housing markets and so on to show definitively as she can, just how rigged for white people everything is. We don’t nor ever have lived in a meritocracy, it’s all rigged for white gain and black loss.
Some of the tax info went a little over my head, but she does a great job of explaining it all, overall. She gives ample examples of what and how she means any given topic.
I have to say for much of this I felt really hopeless and frustrated. But, the author also lays down some possible solutions Congress can enact, as well as individual people and families. There’s a lot to be angry about, but there’s a little hope in the future. A bit. And it can grow.
February 6, 2021
"The Whiteness of Wealth" by Dorothy Brown centers around the way that tax law and the overall nature of the US economy oppress some and elevate others financially. This book is very eye-opening about the history of tax law, who has shaped it, and how it has affected both intergenerational wealth and the financial stability of those who are alive today. As the title makes clear, straight, white, married couples have been the historic winners in the tax game, and those who have been marginalized continue to fall behind. This book is similar to Richard Rothstein's "The Color of Law" and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor's "Race for Profit." If these books interest you, then "The Whiteness of Wealth" is not one to be missed.
April 8, 2024
Incredibly interesting and impressively accessible for someone like me with little to no in depth knowledge of tax policy, let alone the history and origin of specific policies. I definitely recommend this book - I appreciate how it has made me reshape the way I think about my own financial experiences and those of others.
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