How to Measure the Revenue Impact of Changes in Tax Rates :

Chart 2: Wealthy Taxpayers Rely Less on Wage and Salary Income Than Any Other Income Class
Chart 3: Changes In Tax Rates Have Little Effect on Revenues
Chart 4: Rich Pay More Following 1920s Tax Cuts
Chart 5: Rich Paid More Under 1960s Kennedy Tax Cuts
Chart 6: Reagan Tax Cuts Generated 31% More Tax Revenue From the Wealthy
Chart 7: Higher Tax Rates, Lower Revenue
Introduction
One of the most important fiscal policy debates developing in this election involves the question of whether changes in tax policy have "supply-side" effects. In other words, will lower tax rates increase economic growth, resulting in more jobs, higher wages, and bigger profits? If the answer is yes -- meaning that lower tax rates cause taxable income to rise -- it is reasonable to argue that a tax cut will be at least partially self-financing. The extent to which increased revenue from a bigger tax base helps offset the revenue loss from lower tax rates then becomes an empirical question. This is what "static" versus "dynamic" scoring is all about. Static analysis assumes that tax changes have no impact on economic growth, meaning no increases in revenue; dynamic analysis recognizes that taxes do affect the economy. Unfortunately, government estimators use a static approach.

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