Benjamin Franklin once said that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” In 2019, American taxpayers paid $1.6 trillion in individual income taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. And according to Emory University tax law professor Dorothy Brown, author of the book “The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans – and How We Can Fix It,” Black Americans pay more in taxes because the U.S. tax system has long favored white Americans.
When investigating investigate race and tax policies, Brown determined the system puts Black Americans at a disadvantage, mainly due to marital status. Few African Americans are married in comparison to whites. On top of that, when Black people are married, they most likely have a two-income house, meaning they pay higher taxes.
“Let’s say someone makes $50,000. As a single person, their taxes are going to be a certain rate,” she told WBUR. “But as a married person with a single wage earner, that $50,000 household will end up paying fewer taxes than that single wage earner had they remained single.”
There are some Black Americans who feel Black America should be exempt from paying taxes. Due to slavery and its negative financially legacy Black people have paid a “Black Tax Credit,” they argue. Some tried it to not pay taxes but, of course, the IRS wasn’t in agreement. It was reported as a tax scam.
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