For Everthing Else, There’s Taxes: Why Credit Card Rewards Should Stop Being Priceless

The simple swipe or tap of a credit card creates ripple effects that impact people and parties at every stage of the economic food chain. Throughout the last century, the credit card industry has been allowed to grow with practically no hindrance or foresight of its repercussions. Furthermore, the sector has been a well-documented engine of increasing financial inequality, representing an area of the economy that necessitates more forceful regulation. Legislation regarding the credit card industry has largely focused on increasing and clarifying consumer-facing disclosure and stamping out its most predatory practices; however, these laws have been unable to make meaningful progress in advancing financial equity. This Note argues that increased financial equity in this industry can be achieved by taxing the rewards that people earn from their credit cards as if those rewards were regular income. By engaging in such a taxing scheme, the U.S. Congress, the Internal Revenue Service, and the courts can set an effective example and signal that the credit card industry can no longer act as an unrestricted private marketplace operating outside the norms of taxation.