In response to “From the Publisher: It’s Tax Time and Wonderful Things are Coming” published on Oct. 26.
In last week’s editorial, York repeated the latest talking points by left-leaning commentators and media regarding the relationship of tax cuts to economic expansion, pointing to the 2012 Kansas cuts, which seemingly failed to provide significant growth. In other words: Trump’s tax plan will not work.
This, however, is a spurious comparison and fails to mention the huge growth our nation experienced after tax cuts implemented by presidents Kennedy and Reagan.
In Kansas, income taxes were “slashed” for the higher brackets from 6.3 percent to 4.9 percent while those at the bottom saw a reduction of 0.4 percent. Business taxes were reduced or eliminated as well. This seems rather small potatoes in the scheme of things and perhaps Kansas would have seen a recession if not for the cuts.
The question of how much a tax cut stimulates any economy is open since there is never a control for comparison. Kennedy and Reagan cut taxes and the economy expanded. Trump has cut many Obama-era regulations and the economy is rebounding after the most anemic “recovery” in history. But we also know California hasn’t fallen into a recession in spite of significant tax increases, especially on those who earn higher incomes. People continue to flock here, though there is evidence the middle class is leaving because of high taxes and unaffordable housing.
It seems that if underlying conditions are right, a tax stimulus will create enough growth and jobs to increase the total tax take and reduce the deficit.
Scott Dittrich