Tax Policy in the 1980s: A Personal View

The tax reforms of the 1980s were the most substantial tax changes since the dramatic expansion of personal taxation during World War II. This paper. which was written as part of the NBER project on American economic policy in the 1980s. examines the nature of these changes and discusses the reasons why tax policies evolved as they did in the 1980s. Particular attention is given to the role of economic analysis in shaping the tax reforms.