“2017 $3.32 Trillion
2018 $3.33 Trillion
2019 $3.46 Trillion
2020 $3.71 Trillion (estimated)
the income tax breaks did not produce as advertised.
“
Um, those numbers have been going up. How did the tax break not produce more revenue?
I didn't say that revenues didn't go up. They did - marginally. But they did not go up as advertised. I think the current tax rates are great. But there should be no further reduction (I can't believe I'm saying this, but...). Since we are at full employment, and interest rates are at historically low levels, and we are still only getting GDP at +/- 2.0%, (2018 GDP was 2.9%, 2019 was only 2.3% with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter 2019 the GDP was 2.0, 2.1 and 2.1 %)
I think we are already at the apex of the Laffer curve. (For those unfamiliar with the Laffer Curve, the Laffer Curve describes the relationship between tax rates and total tax revenue, with an optimal tax rate that maximizes total government tax revenue. If taxes are too high along the Laffer Curve, then they will discourage the taxed activities, such as work and investment, enough to actually reduce total tax revenue. when cutting high tax rates it will both stimulate economic incentives and increase tax revenue.) As a result, a further reduction in tax rates, will reduce tax revenues, as the stimulus gained from reducing taxes further will not offset the reduction in tax revenues which will drive the country further into debt.
We already have about 50% of wage earners not paying ANY federal income tax and a chunk of those people actually receive tax credits - they get more money back than what was actually withheld from their paychecks. The system is broken.
Now if you want to talk about reducing corporate tax rates, again, that is where you can get a better bang for your buck.