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Tax Policy in the United States: Was There a “Neo-Liberal” Revolution in the 1970s and 1980s?

In: Worlds of Taxation

Author

Listed:
  • W. Elliot Brownlee

    (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Abstract

This chapter examines whether or not there was a “neo-liberal” revolution in tax policy during the 1970s and 1980s. This chapter (1) defines “neo-liberalism,” (2) assesses the extent to which tax policies during the 1970s and 1980s, especially those of the Reagan administration, constituted a “neo-liberal” break, and (3) evaluates the impact of those policies on the American political economy. This chapter finds that (1) significant tax cutting began immediately after World War II and eroded of progressivity long before the 1970s; (2) the most significant peacetime tax increases in American history followed the 1981 tax cuts; (3) the most dramatic shift toward “retro-liberal” taxation came after 2000; and (4) expenditure policies after 1981 had a greater impact than did taxation in worsening wealth inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • W. Elliot Brownlee, 2018. "Tax Policy in the United States: Was There a “Neo-Liberal” Revolution in the 1970s and 1980s?," Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance, in: Gisela Huerlimann & W. Elliot Brownlee & Eisaku Ide (ed.), Worlds of Taxation, pages 155-186, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-3-319-90263-0_7
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-90263-0_7
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