Resources

There is a huge gap between DC’s wealthy, mostly white residents and Black and brown residents who are still being hardest hit by the effects of the pandemic and economic downturn. Just 1,500 households in DC have a net worth over $30 million and they hold nearly half of all wealth in the District. Centuries of policies and practices disadvantaged people of color and privileged white residents in employment, education, and wealth-building opportunities. Today, the tax system continues to privilege high-income and wealthy households by under-taxing property, wealth, and capital gains, among other things. This allows higher-income residents to build more wealth and pass that wealth to future generations, making wealth inequality worse over time. 

But taxes can also be used as a tool to close the racial wealth gap by asking more of households with the highest incomes and helping families earning low and middle incomes keep more of what they earn.