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A Democratic lawmaker has suggested Black Americans be exempt from paying taxes as a form of reparations.
During an appearance on the "Black Lawyers Podcast," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, set forth the proposal on reparations for Black Americans, per Fox News.
Crockett told host J. Carter that a celebrity initially proposed the idea that Black people shouldn't have to pay taxes, and she recalled thinking that it was "not necessarily a bad idea."
The Texas Democrat noted that she couldn't remember which celebrity made the suggestion.
"I'd have to think through it a lot," Crockett said on the podcast. "One of the things they propose is Black folk not have to pay taxes for a certain amount of time because, then again, that puts money back in your pocket."
"But at the same time, it may not be as objectionable to some people [as] actually giving out dollars," she added.
Crockett went on to explain why reparations are needed for the Black community.
"So many Black folk, not only do you owe for the labor that was stolen and killed and all the other things, right, but the fact is we end up being so far behind," she said.
The lawmaker noted initial flaws in the plan to make Black Americans tax-exempt, pointing out how some people in the community aren't "paying taxes in the first place."
"If you do the no-tax thing, for people that are already, say, struggling and aren't paying taxes in the first place —" Crockett said, before Carter chimed in saying, "it doesn't matter to them" and that "they may want those checks like they got during COVID."
"Exactly," Crockett responded.
Crockett also said she believes there needs to be consistency between federal and state governments on policy for reparations. If not, "everybody’s gonna run to whichever state and be like, ‘Yo, I need mine,’" she said.
"We don’t want to see that — this is definitely something that needs to be thought through," Crockett added.
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