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Hear the latest from the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom.

The Opportunity Gap

New research shows that low-income families... particularly people of color... pay state and local taxes at a higher rate than wealthy, white families. This is not an accident. As the Louisiana Legislature convenes for a two-month session focused on tax policy, experts detailed the racist origins of the revenue structure in Louisiana and the South, and how this history manifests in the present day in the economic outcomes of Black Louisianans, including healthcare disparities and residential patterns. Scholars from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center and Louisiana Public Health Institute explained how states can make their tax systems more equitable.

Moderator: Priska Neely, Managing Editor, Gulf States Newsroom
Kamolika Das, MPP, State Policy Analyst, ITEP
Cashauna Hill, J.D., Executive Director, Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center
Tiffany Jeanminette, MPA, Policy & Equity Director, Louisiana Public Health Institute

Produced by the Reilly Center in collaboration with WRKF. Recorded on April 13, 2021. Watch here.