The primary purpose of the tax code is to raise revenue to support public investments we all rely on. Chronic underinvestment in women and families, however, continues to exacerbate racial and gender inequities. One critical example: our national failure to make robust public investments in child care, paid family and medical leave, and aging and disability care lowers women’s incomes, negatively impacts health and well-being, harms employers, and weakens the economy. Advancing gender and racial justice requires ensuring that the tax code raises more revenues to invest in our shared priorities in a progressive way.

In 2017, a major tax package, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” commonly known as the TCJA or the 2017 Tax Law, was enacted through the reconciliation process by Republican majorities in Congress during the Trump administration.

We expect major tax changes to be debated in 2025, as many of these tax cuts will expire. This fact sheet explores how this approaching legislative deadline is an opportunity to make the tax code more progressive as well as to raise needed revenue. Not only should we let the TCJA provisions that benefit the wealthiest expire, but we should go further to make sure the wealthy and big corporations are paying their fair share. Raising significant federal revenues is an important goal for the 2025 tax debate, and these revenues should support critical and long-overdue investments in women, families, and communities, such as the care infrastructure we all need to thrive.