Non-profit

Tax March

Website:

taxmarch.org

Type:

Left-Wing Tax Reform Advocacy Group

Project of:

Sixteen Thirty Fund

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Tax March is a left-of-center group that lobbies for tax increases. The group is a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a left-of-center funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors, a philanthropy consulting firm in Washington, D.C. 1

Tax March was at least partially funded by a $10,000 grant in 2017 from the left-leaning Avaaz Foundation, which indicated in its grant support for the “US Tax March.” 2

Tax March describes itself as a coalition of more than 70 partner organizations that includes “top social justice leaders and policy experts.” 3

History

The organization began in early 2017, shortly after Jennifer Taub, a professor at Vermont Law School, returned from a local Women’s March in Boston. Taub has said that she became angry when she saw Trump White House advisor Kellyanne Conway on TV saying the public did not care about the contents of President Donald Trump’s tax returns. After Taub tweeted why she cares, the tweet picked up steam and went viral after comedian Frank Lesser tweeted the same idea. Other celebrities began to retweet her. Taub and Lesser connected by direct messaging. Other community organizers got involved and the group planned a demonstration for April 15, 2017 (tax day) to demand the public release of Trump’s tax returns. 4

By late 2017, the organization shifted to opposing the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, which it characterized as a “Republican tax scam.” 5

The organization pushed the tax returns as a possible ground for removing President Trump from office during the impeachment investigations in 2019. 6

2020 Elections

During the summer of 2019, Tax March held a bus tour demanding more taxes on the rich. The organization also launched an ad buy ahead of the Democratic presidential debates during the fall 2019. 7

In early 2020, the organization has also accused President Trump and Republicans in Congress of seeking to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. 8

On March 23, 2020, Tax March announced it would be spending $1.2 million on a series of television and online ads targeting GOP senators David Perdue (R-GA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) within their home states. 9

The group claims several corporations which received relief measures contained in the 2017 bill will be granted a more favorable bailout relief through the $2 trillion Covid-19 stimulus package signed into law March 27, 2020. 10

Leadership

Maura Quint is the executive director of Tax March and a member of the advisory board. She is a humor writer who has been published in The New Yorker. Rolling Stone named her as among the top 25 funniest twitter accounts of 2016. 11

Jennifer Taub, founder of the movement, is also on the board. Taub is a professor at Vermont Law School. She is the author of Other People’s Houses and co-author of Corporate and White Collar Crime: Cases and Materials. 12

The advisory board had 12 other members, most of whom have careers in Democratic politics or liberal activism.

Melissa Boteach is a vice president for the National Women’s Law Center. Before joining the NWLC, she worked for a decade at the Center for American Progress. She was also previously the editor of The Shriver Report, a book and multimedia platform by Maria Shriver and Center for American Progress. 13

Scarlette Bustos is a community organizer and activist. She previously did campaign work for a California congressional campaign. 14

Anna Chu also serves as a vice president for the National Women’s Law Center and was previously a vice president for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the advocacy arm of the think tank. She was previously the policy director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was a policy advisor for the House Democratic Caucus. 15

Indivar Dutta-Gupta is co-executive director at the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. He previously worked for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and for the Democratic staff at the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. 16

Nicole Gill is a senior advisor to the CEO of Pathfinder International, an NGO that champions abortion rights worldwide. She previously was the executive director of Tax March and the campaign director at The Hub Project, also a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund. 17

Ezra Levin is the co-founder and executive director of the Indivisible Project. He previously worked as deputy policy director for Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). 18

Michael Linden is the policy and research director at The Hub Project and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. He previously was the senior policy adviser for Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) on the Senate Budget Committee and then the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Before that, he worked for the Center for American Progress. 19

Delvone Michael is a senior political strategist for the left-wing Working Families Party. He was a founding director of District of Columbia Working Families Party where he was architect of the D.C. for $15 minimum wage initiative. 20

Angela Peoples is an organizer and strategist. 21

Connie Razza is the chief of campaign and policy for the Center for Popular Democracy. She was previously a vice president at Demos. 22

Zach Silk is president of Civic Ventures. He previously co-founded the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. 23

Gwen Snyder is a community organizer from Philadelphia. 24

References

  1. See privacy policy language indicating ownership by the Sixteen Thirty (1630) Fund. Original URL: https://taxmarch.org/privacy-policy/
  2. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Avaaz Foundation. 2017. Schedule I.
  3. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  4. Jamieson, Amber. “Tax March: How a Law Professor Sparked a Global Event to Demand Trump’s Tax Returns.” The Guardian. April 16, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/12/tax-march-trump-tax-returns-activism-jennifer-taub
  5. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  6. Jagoda, Naomi. “Tax-Return Whistleblower in Spotlight Amid Impeachment Fight.” The Hill. October 6, 2019. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/464469-tax-return-whistleblower-in-spotlight-amid-impeachment-fight
  7. Jagoda, Naomi. “Liberal Group Launches Tax Campaign in Houston Ahead of Debate.” The Hill. September 11, 2019. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/460904-liberal-group-launches-tax-campaign-in-houston-ahead-of-debate
  8. Bye, Dana. “One thing Trump won’t brag about in his State of the Union: his plans to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.” Market Watch. February 4, 2020. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/one-thing-trump-wont-brag-about-in-his-state-of-the-union-his-plans-to-cut-social-security-medicare-and-medicaid-2020-02-04
  9. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal Dark Money Group to Spend $1.2 Million Attacking GOP Senators on Coronavirus.” The Washington Free Beacon. March 28, 2020. https://freebeacon.com/2020-election/liberal-dark-money-group-to-spend-1-2-million-attacking-gop-senators-on-coronavirus/
  10. Schoffstall, Joe. “Liberal Dark Money Group to Spend $1.2 Million Attacking GOP Senators on Coronavirus.” The Washington Free Beacon. March 28, 2020. https://freebeacon.com/2020-election/liberal-dark-money-group-to-spend-1-2-million-attacking-gop-senators-on-coronavirus/
  11. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  12. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  13. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  14. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  15. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  16. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  17. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  18. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  19. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  20. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  21. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  22. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  23. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
  24. About. Tax March. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://taxmarch.org/about/
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