Ann M. Murphy (Gonzaga), has published Nothing to Gain: The Disparate Impact of the Capital Gains Tax Preference on Women and Persons of Color, 26 Nev. L.J. 1 (2025). Here is the abstract:

Tax preference provisions are scattered across the Internal Revenue Code, and the capital gains tax rate offers an enormous advantage for wealthy taxpayers. When first enacted, it was touted as eliminating the “lock-in effect” which caused investors to hold on to their investment property. Today, it is justified as encouraging investment and eliminating gains produced merely by the passage of time. The provision’s unequal benefits are hidden from the picture. Although not overtly discriminatory, the preference operates as a tax cut for the wealthy. Women and persons of color see little benefit from the lower tax rate. The difficulty of comparing tax data by gender, race, and ethnicity exacerbates this inequity. The exclusion of women and persons of color from the reduced tax rate contributes to the overall inequality of wealth, a situation that must be remedied. Historically, Congress has been reluctant to make meaningful adjustments to eliminate this built-in inequality, such as taxing unrealized gains or providing comparable benefits to women and persons of color. This Article provides a brief history of the capital gains preference, examines statistical income and wealth disparities based on gender and race, and proposes solutions to reduce the negative impact of the capital gains preference that leaves behind women and persons of color.