> So historically there were fewer deductions to go with the higher rates.
Not so fast. (You even provided a counter-example.) It's no where near that clear-cut.
The Reagan tax cuts were accompanied by a huge reduction in deductions. (One of the biggies was the elimination of the deduction for personal interest.) The result is that how you made and spent your money became less important in how much you got to keep.
We are seeing more "no taxes for {specific company}" shennanigans now, but they're a different class of chicanery as they're basically payoffs to specific people.
Not so fast. (You even provided a counter-example.) It's no where near that clear-cut.
The Reagan tax cuts were accompanied by a huge reduction in deductions. (One of the biggies was the elimination of the deduction for personal interest.) The result is that how you made and spent your money became less important in how much you got to keep.
We are seeing more "no taxes for {specific company}" shennanigans now, but they're a different class of chicanery as they're basically payoffs to specific people.