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In reply to the discussion: Billionaire Sam Zell: "The 1% work harder." [View all]JHB
(37,291 posts)Last edited Fri Feb 7, 2014, 11:05 AM - Edit history (1)
Ignoring the actual rates, here's a history of the number of tax brackets, also showing the number which affected (inflation-adjusted) taxable incomes above $250K and $500K. You'll notice how one of the sections is radically different from the others...
Here's an incomplete chart showing a sample of years side-by-side (again, inflation-adjusted), and even this leaves out some of the years in the early 20s and during the Depression when the top brackets reached into the tens of millions. I'm trying to find a way to make clear just how radically the tax structure was changed under Reagan (and supported by Democrats relying on big-money donors). One doesn't have to advocate for 50's level tax rates to see how the "spread" has been altered, with the low end getting some cuts and the high end getting a chain saw taken to it.