Reagan tax cuts

The phrase Reagan tax cuts refers to changes to the United States federal tax code passed during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. There were two major tax cuts: The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The tax cuts popularized the now infamous phrase "trickle-down economics" as it was primarily used as a moniker by opponents of the bill in order to degrade supply-side economics, the driving principle used to promote the tax cuts. The first tax cut (Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981) among other things, cut the highest personal income tax rate from 70% to 50% and the lowest from 14% to 11% and decreased the highest capital gains tax rate from 28% to 20%. The second tax cut (Tax Reform Act of 1986) among other things, cut the highest personal income tax rate from 50% to 38.5% but decreasing to 28% in the following years and increased the highest capital gains tax rate from 20% to 28%. At the time, people weren't substantially informed about the tax cuts, as an ABC News Poll in September 1986 showed that 63% of Americans didn't know enough about the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to say if it was good or bad. The top marginal income tax rate, that is, the rate paid on the 'last dollar' of the highest earner's income, was increased to 77% on the 2 millionth dollar earned during and to help finance the cost of fighting World War I. This rate was cut over a period of 5 years following the war to a low of 25% in 1925, and tax collection as a share of output fell dramatically. In response to pressure from a now Democratic Party-controlled Congress, President Herbert Hoover reluctantly agreed to raise the top marginal rate to finance relief programs. In the resulting Revenue Act of 1932 the top marginal tax rate was raised from 25% to 63%. The top marginal rate was again raised in 1936 and 1940. In 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. In response, the Congress declared war on Japan and Germany and enacted an additional tax increase to help finance new war spending - raising the top marginal rate to its all-time-high of 94% on the $200,000th earned ($3.