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Bring Back Reagan's Tax Policy
To the Editor:
Re "A Bold Plan Sweeps Away Reagan Ideas" (front page, Feb. 27):
As a liberal Democrat, allow me to point out that there's at least one Reagan idea that should be restored and not swept away. In his last fiscal legacy, the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Reagan raised the tax on capital gains from 20% to 28%. Even more, in a move sought by progressives for decades, he equalized taxes on income from wages and income from wealth, i.e., capital gains and dividends.
The tax reform sought by President Obama will raise taxes on capital gains from 15% to 20%, well short of Reagan's 28%. And it continues the egregious inequity of taxing wages at a higher rate than investment income.
Let's bring back the Reagan policy: equal taxes on all income, no matter where it comes from.
Gerald E. Scorse
New York, NY
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PSSSST...Don't tell the republicans. They don't know anything about Reagan except his affable, "Aw shucks" speechifying.
March 1, 2009 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
"PSSSST...Don't tell the republicans." Right; they forget entirely this aspect of Reagan's tax policy. (Too many Democrats don't seem to remember either.)
March 1, 2009 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink