Bob Lord

Bob Lord, a tax lawyer and former Congressional candidate, is an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. Bob previously served as an adjunct faculty member at the Arizona State University School of Law. Bob’s work focuses on the relationship of tax law to inequality. He contributes to both the Inequality.org website and to OtherWords, the Institute’s national syndicated editorial service. Bob also is a staff member at Blog For Arizona, the leading political blog in Arizona.

Latest

Elly May Clampett Is the Target of Biden’s Tax Plan, Not Laura Ingalls

Bob Lord, Sarah Anderson | August 27, 2021

The capital-gains-tax proposal would actually protect family farmers like those on “Little House on the Prairie” and tax the windfall riches ‘earned” by ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’

Our ‘Trillion-Dollar Seven’: Can We Summon the Courage to Tax Them?

Bob Lord | August 26, 2021

The billions our billionaires are grabbing currently face a next-to-nothing tax rate.

image of billionaire Jeff Bezos billboard that says tax me if you can

Taxing Lifetime Gains Serves Different Fairness Goal Than Estate Tax

Bob Lord | July 29, 2021

The “basis step-up” allows wealthy people to avoid paying income tax on lifetimes of investment gains.

nba team golden state warriors playing against the toronto raptors

Sports Teams: The Everlasting Tax Shelter for Billionaires

Sarah Anderson, Bob Lord | July 12, 2021

A perverse loophole allows owners of profitable teams — and their heirs — to lower their tax bills by claiming huge paper losses.

paypal founder peter thiel speaking at a podium

Peter Thiel’s $5 Billion Roth IRA: Only the Size is News

Bob Lord | June 28, 2021

Lawmakers have known about this giant loophole for years. Now it’s time to do something about it.

Tax Foundation Sounds the Alarm — over the Plight of Totally Mythical Taxpayers

Bob Lord | June 2, 2021

No actual taxpayers are going to face anything remotely close to the tax rate critics of the Biden tax plan are claiming.

STEP Act: The Critical First Blow to Millionaire Income Tax Avoidance

Bob Lord | March 29, 2021

New legislation would put an end to an income tax windfall for millionaires and their descendants.

monopoly to depict economic inequality - taxation - billionaire wealth

No, The Rich Are Not Paying Their Fair Share

Bob Lord, Chuck Collins | March 17, 2021

The share of the nation’s wealth pie owned by the richest 0.01 percent has quadrupled over the last 70 years.

house made of money to depict wealth concentration and the role taxes and taxation plays in concentrated wealth

The Simple Rules of Wealth Inequality

Bob Lord | March 11, 2021

The rich won’t be paying their fair share of taxes as long as our tax system speeds wealth’s concentration.

trillionaire billionaire wealthy trust fund baby making a business call

America’s Future: Trillionaire Trust Fund Babies?

Bob Lord | February 17, 2021

Billionaire wealth is exploding. They’re passing that wealth to heirs and heiresses virtually tax-free.

money and handcuffs to depict tax avoidance - taxation - tax evasion

Beyond Lucrative: Jeffrey Epstein’s Billionaire Tax Avoidance Assistance Business

Bob Lord, Daniel Hemel | February 16, 2021

The infamous financier’s exploits cast a shadow on the one of Wall Street’s favorite tax avoidance schemes.

1040 individual income tax return form - taxation - hidden wealth

Taxes on the Rich: One-Sixth of What They Used to Be

Bob Lord, Chuck Collins | February 12, 2021

A new IPS briefing paper highlights the unique role of tax policy in wealth concentration.

In Arizona, a Progressive Ballot Victory Exposes the Inequitable Federal Treatment of State and Local Taxes

Bob Lord | November 25, 2020

The Trump 2017 tax act penalizes states that tax income responsibly.

trump signs the tax cuts and jobs act 2017

One Key Overlooked Reason We Need the 2017 Trump Tax Act Axed — ASAP

Bob Lord, Sam Pizzigati | November 8, 2020

The longer the law remains on the books, the tighter the squeeze on funding for state and local public services.

Donald Trump’s Abuse of the Conservation Easement Tax Loophole Shows How the Tax Code Favors the Ultra Rich

Chuck Collins, Bob Lord | October 21, 2020

How to ‘donate’ land to a charity, but keep it for your own exclusive use.

wealth inequality-picture shows a briefcase full of one hundred dollar bills

Wealth Inequality in America: Far Beyond Extreme

Bob Lord | October 12, 2020

The maldistribution of America’s income and wealth has reached levels that our conventional economic stats have trouble revealing.

The Basic Case for a Wealth Tax

Bob Lord, Lee Price | August 10, 2020

America’s 12 wealthiest now control $1 trillion of wealth. The only practical way to address this extreme wealth concentration: a tax on accumulated grand fortune.

Welcome to Hectobillionaire Land

Bob Lord | July 1, 2020

The concentration of America’s wealth has gone into overdrive.

Taxes Paid By Billionaires Decreased 79 Percent Since 1980, as Percentage of Their Wealth

Chuck Collins, Bob Lord | April 13, 2020

As we emerge from this pandemic, substantial tax increases are inevitable. Central to the program should be a tax that limits the hoarding of wealth by the billionaire class.

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The U-Turn that Turned America Staggeringly Unequal

Bob Lord | November 30, 2019

For decades in the mid 20th century, our nation’s grandest private fortunes were becoming less pronounced. Today, we’re on track for another Gilded Age.