“The goal of taxjusticenow.org is to help citizens understand and participate in the tax debate. We see it as an essential companion to our 2019 book The Triumph of Injustice. On taxjusticenow.org, you can visualize how much each income group pays in taxes when we include all taxes (income taxes, corporate taxes, payroll taxes, consumption taxes, etc.) at all levels of government (federal, state, and local). Plus you can explore how changing existing taxes—such as increasing individual income tax rates—or creating new taxes—such as a progressive wealth tax or a value added tax—would affect tax revenue, tax progressivity, and inequality. We also model the tax plans of the main presidential candidates (and will update them as new or refined proposals come in). But you don’t have to wait and can immediately build up your favorite tax plan and become an active participant in the debate.

Our tool is very basic compared to the sophisticated tax simulators developed by government agencies and think-tanks. But you do not need to be an expert to use it; it’s a tool for the people and captures the essence of the tax debate: how can we make our tax system fairer? Our simulator is transparent and open-source: our code, data, and programs are available in the technical appendix section.

This tool will evolve, expand, and improve in the coming months and years. We welcome your reactions and suggestions. You can leave comments below or email us directly at taxjusticenow@gmail.com.”