Editor:
It is amazing that politicians and the press cannot understand the difference between tax rate and tax revenue. The data is evident going back to the early 20th century.
Under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, tax rates for the wealthiest Americans were cut from 73% to 24% between 1921 and 1928. Revenue collected from that group increased from $210 million in 1921 to $650 million in 1928. More than three times as much.
In 1962 John F. Kennedy increased tax revenue by reducing the rate. Revenues were increased again by cutting the rate in 1981 under Ronald Reagan, in 2001 under George W. Bush and in 2018 under Donald Trump.
That tax cut prompted a short article in the March 4, 2020, Reading Eagle, in which the state Department of Revenue reported collecting $20.9 billion year to date, which was $249 million more than expected.
This happened because wealthy people invested in businesses that rewarded their investment with good taxable return. Those investments employed more people at higher pay who paid more income taxes and bought more products thus paid more sales tax.
When tax rates increase, the wealthiest people find tax-free investments that do not support the economy or employ more people in the private sector.
It appears that the press and politicians are not really interested in raising tax revenue but in rhetoric to make it sound like they are punishing financial success. The data does not support their plans for increasing tax revenue.
Charles Kopicz
Wyomissing
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment