[ad_1]
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Taxing Police Brutality Bonds
Likhitha Butchireddygari (J.D. 2023, Columbia), Notice, Taxing Police Brutality Bonds, 123 Colum. L. Rev. 1017 (2023):
In view of many years of devastating police violence and efforts to reform policing, this Notice factors to 2 concurrent phenomena that consequence within the federal tax code granting advantages to the wealthiest taxpayers who lend to municipalities for police brutality settlements. The primary phenomenon is cities electing to concern bonds to fulfill these expensive payouts. These bonds have been coined “police brutality bonds.” The second phenomenon is the tax profit to traders within the prime tax brackets for gathering curiosity from municipal bonds—in comparison with like non-public bonds. This Notice argues that the federal tax code mustn’t enable rich taxpayers to obtain tax advantages from funding police brutality bonds. Additional, since tax exemption of municipal bonds is a type of federal subsidy, this Notice argues {that a} federal subsidy for police brutality bonds is inappropriate given the legislative intent and financial justification behind tax exemption.
Conclusion
Police brutality takes the lives of 1000’s and injures tens of 1000’s extra every year. Younger males of colour, specifically, bear the brunt of this violence. Teachers have examined the human prices of police brutality, its causes and prevalence in our cities, and methods to reform policing to cut back hurt and enhance accountability. Creating systemic change round any downside requires understanding who advantages from the established order and the way. With police brutality, at a time when cities pay tons of of thousands and thousands—if not billions—of {dollars} in settlements and judgments every year, this Notice confirmed how the richest taxpayers obtain a tax profit from funding these payouts and municipalities obtain decrease rates of interest on their bonds. This Notice additionally proposed concrete reforms policymakers may enact to eradicate these advantages.
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2023/07/taxing-police-brutality-bonds.html
[ad_2]