A California lawmaker wants to tax gold, cotton, and other items linked to slavery and use the money for reparations for black people.
The bill introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer is one of 12 bills backed by the California Legislative Black Caucus. The bills stem from a 2023 report published by the state’s reparations task force — the first such task force in the nation.
The task force was created after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed California Assembly Bill 3121 in 2020. However, Newsom has been noncommittal to the measures proposed by the task force.
The tax, the rate of which is unspecified in the bill, would go into effect in July 2025 at a sale’s point of purchase.
Consumers buying wine, olives, cane sugar, rice, coffee beans, and any other goods linked to the trans-Atlantic trade would pay a tax. The reparation funds would focus on residents descended from slaves. The funds from the tax would go toward helping them cover housing loans or pay for tuition.
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In the past, the reparations task force proposed a $1.2 million payout to black residents.
Talk of reparations is unpopular among the majority of California residents, with only 23% in support of the measure.