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Donald Regan on Tax Reform
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10% tax reduction each year for three years
The Kemp-Roth Bill called for a 30% tax cut for all taxpayers in three increments of 10% each over three consecutive years. The second was a proposal calling for the rapid depreciation, for tax purposes, of plant and equipment as a means of modernizing
American industry and making it more efficient.If these were the things the President wanted, I was ready to help him get them. I ordered my priorities, and chose my staff at Treasury, with the idea of carrying out the President's campaign promises.
Source: For the Record, by Donald Regan, p.159
, May 2, 1988
Lower taxes for all, by eliminating special privileges
My goal was to lower taxes for everyone by eliminating the special privileges enjoyed by the few. A tax system in which everyone plays by the same rules, and in which the taxpayer is
guaranteed that he can keep more of what he earns, provides incentives for harder work, greater efficiency, and higher productivity.
This generates more earnings and consequently more revenue for the government. In other words, the same share of a bigger total makes for a fuller Treasury.
Our aim, I repeated, was to reform the income tax without raising taxes or lowering revenues. In the jargon, this concept was expressed as "revenue-neutral reform."
Source: For the Record, by Donald Regan, p.205-206
, May 2, 1988
Page last updated: Sep 28, 2018