Max Sawicky wrote:
> > Max Sawicky writes:
>
>
> >
> > >The share of taxes paid
> > >by the rich has gone up a lot (because their income
> > >share has).
> > While the top tax rate was slashed from 70% in 1977 to 39.6% in 1994. I
>
> The base was broadened, restoring the same burden,
> roughly speaking. The burden went down between 81
> and 86, up from 86 to 97, and probably down since.
> I noted in another post that it has bounced around
> more than for other groups.
How rough is rough. Are you saying that the pre 77 tax had many capricious loophooles like income averaging .... that for the very wealthy let say for the top 1% or .5% of the population some paid 70% of income others who were more aggressive paid zero under the old law and they haven't found equivalent loopholes under current law broadening the burden. Its sounds like you are saying that the 77+ tax reform was exactly as Ronald Reagan sold it, it may be true but I find it hard to believe. Or are you saying the moderately well off now have a larger burden because they've been moved to a higher bracket or no simple generalization suffices.
Its hard to imagine extremely well off individuals doing worse under the new code than the old but I am not in that bracket. Are references to all the papers either at your site or the places you make reference to.
--mike -- Michael Cohen mike at cns.bu.edu Work: 677 Beacon, Street, Rm313 Boston, Mass 02115 Home: 25 Stearns Rd, #3 Brookline, Mass 02146 Tel-Work: 617-353-9484 Tel-Home:617-734-8828 Tel-FAX:617-353-7755