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99 Wash. Univ. L. Rev. Online 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/wshuvylw99 and id is 1 raw text is: Washington University Law Review Online VOLUME 99 2022 A DEFICIT OF DESERTS THE CASE FOR A PANDEMIC EXCESS PROFITS TAX RAE ENSOR* The global COVID-19 pandemic caused, inter alia, the economic balance in the United States to tilt wildly. In earlier decades, such extreme social and economic upheaval led Congress to pass a special tax on those who benefittedfrom the crisis, known as an excess profits tax. This paper analyzes the relevant tax policy considerations of bringing back a similar excess profits tax, modeled off of the excess profits tax of World War II, as a response to this upheaval. While such a tax would be politically unfeasible at this time, it may be an effective way of redistributing unbalanced resources, counteracting the sudden lack of competition, and generating needed revenue. These benefits are counterbalanced by the risk of disincentivizing innovation and an uncertain tax incidence. Though the excessive profits of large companies were earned, they were undeserved. Given that these undeserved profits accrued against a backdrop of worsening income and wealth inequality, an excess profits tax to recapture this income would be appropriate. * J.D., Washington University School of Law. The author would like to thank Professor Cheryl Block for her crucial guidance and feedback on this paper. 1

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