Episode 304: Talking Tax Justice

Talk Policy To Me

Who benefits most from the tax system? What did the Trump tax cuts achieve? How do taxes affect inequality? What’s the relationship between taxes and democracy?

Tax policy seems like it was designed by, of, and for the rich. But, as our guest today Gabriel Zucman points out, the U.S. tax code was once a vastly different beast.

Zucman is an associate professor of economics at UC Berkeley, director of the Center on Wealth and Income Inequality, and economic advisor for two 2020 presidential campaigns. His latest book The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make them Pay, co-written with UC Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez, documents the dramatic transformation of the U.S. tax code. In less than a lifetime, Americans exchanged the most progressive tax system in the world—a tax system with marginal income tax rates as high as 94 percent for the highest earners—for one where the 400 wealthiest members of society pay a lower tax rate than any other income group.

Zucman’s work is clear. "Tax dodging” and the current iteration of the tax system—from income and payroll taxes to sales and property taxes—are not inevitable outcomes, but deliberate choices made by policymakers to privilege the interests of wealthy Americans and multinational corporations. If you believe this theory, it follows that we can and should make better choices in the future. For a preview of what these choices might look like and an outline of how we can design a progressive tax system for the twenty-first century, tune in to this conversation between Khalid Kaldi (MPP ’21) and Gabriel Zucman.

If tax policy brings you joy, check out:

• Tax Policy Simulator
• 60 Profitable Fortune 500 Companies Avoided All Federal Income Taxes in 2018, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (Report)
• Combating Inequality Conference (Video)

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-304-talking-tax-justice