Don Luskin has the goods on the terrific 2003 capital gains tax cut and the increased government revenues it yielded.
Bottom line: The Congressional Budget Office predicted the 2003 capital gains tax rate cut from 20% to 15% would reduce capital gains revenues by $26 billion when in fact those revenues have increased by $27 billion over the baseline projection, for a total CBO botch of $53 billion.
Wasn't it just earlier this week that former Treasury Secretary and current Citigroup director Robert Rubin was giving us another lecture how in order to become more competitive and prepare for a future of intense globalization the U.S. needs to raise tax rates? Sorry, Bob, the new numbers, as have all the old numbers, disprove your weird high-tax, root-canal, negative-sum theories.
-Bret Swanson
