Kerry A. Ryan (St. Louis University School of Law), The Strengthen Social Security by Taxing Dynastic Wealth Act: Throwback or ‘Fauxback’? (Tax Notes, July 9, 20026, 2026 TNTF 130-10)

Throwback jerseys in professional sports are having a moment. “Throwbacks” are sports uniforms designed to resemble attire worn by a team in the past. Throwback uniforms have proven popular in all major professional and college sports, not only with fans, but also with the teams’ merchandising departments. Some newer sports franchises will wear “fauxbacks,” new retro-style uniforms that harken back to a time predating the team itself. For example, although the Tampa Bay Rays first took the field in 1998, they have worn 1979-style uniforms on several occasions since the uniforms were introduced in 2012.

This article considers whether the Strengthen Social Security by Taxing Dynastic Wealth Act, introduced March 25 by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., ranking member of the Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (Van Hollen bill), will revert the federal wealth transfer taxes to how they existed in 2009 (throwback) or will be a new retro-styled estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax structure that structurally resembles that of 2009 but is actually something new and different (fauxback).

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