General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It's getting real hard to tell just who destroyed the economy... [View all]1939
(1,683 posts)Bills to raise, lower. or reform the federal tax systems have to originate in the House of Representatives, be approved by the Senate, and then go to the president for signature. While a president may or may not have proposed a tax increase or decrease, he was helpless to get it without congress. Blaming JFK or Reagan for lowering taxes or praising FDR or LBJ (temporarily) for raising them overlooks the role of congress in constructing the IRS Code.
While Reagan was very enthusiastic about the 1986 tax revolution, the bill was supposedly "revenue neutral" trading off deductions and exemptions for lower rates. That tax bill was pushed through the Democratically-controilled House by Rep Richard Gephardt who always had a "D" after his name.