Families of color are disproportionately facing greater challenges from COVID-19. These families are not only more likely to contract and die from the disease, but they are more likely to have family members who have lost jobs, work hours or work-related income. Recent data indicate that 57 percent of Latinx households and 41 percent of Black households have suffered these hardships as compared to only 38 percent of white households. As a result of these and other COVID-19 issues, more than 45 percent of Black and Latinx families reported they have suffered a financial hardship in the last month. This is almost twice the rate of hardship reported by white households who are more likely to have liquid savings, assets and credit to draw upon than their neighbors of color. There are many aspects of economic injustice including racial discrimination that have brought us to this place in history. Given the national uprising against racial violence, which itself has links to economic injustice, there is no more urgent time than now to ask what can we do to change racial economic injustice? Tax systems can deliver justice when properly structured. Our expert panel proposed structural remedies that the CARES Act has not delivered. Notably, tax and constitutional law scholars will discuss pending federal litigation regarding the denial of Economic Impact Payments for families of mixed immigration status.
June 25, 2020 COVID-19 WEBINAR SERIES
#BlackTaxpayersMatter – COVID-19 and Communities of Color: CARES Act Failures & Constitutional Litigation
Panelists
- Leslie Book, Professor of Law, Charles Widger School of Law, Villanova University
- Steven Brown, Research Associate, Labor Sociology, Urban Institute
- Donnie Charleston, Director, State and Local Fiscal Policy Engagement, Urban Institute
- Robert Friedman, Senior Counsel, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy & Protection
Moderator
- Francine J. Lipman – William S. Boyd Professor of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law
Resources
Presentation: Leslie Book and Robert Friedman, Steven Brown
Transcript: #BlackTaxpayersMatter – COVID-19 and Communities of Color: CARES Act Failures & Constitutional Litigation
Why it matters that race and ethnicity aren’t recorded by the IRS
Popular Science | June 23, 2020
RESEARCH REPORT Next50 Catalyst Brief: Structural Racism
Urban Institute | May 23, 2020
RESEARCH REPORT Long Island Racial Equity through Economic Advancement
Urban Institute | March 11, 2020
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