"For years, they have not been able to get tax cuts -- many, many years, since Reagan."
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Donald Trump wrong that no tax cuts passed since Reagan
During a speech in St. Charles, Mo., to promote Republican tax legislation in Congress, President Donald Trump tried to offer some historical context.
"You know, for years, they have not been able to get tax cuts -- many, many years, since Reagan," Trump said on Nov. 29.
That’s flat wrong. Under three presidents -- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- Congress enacted nine tax bills worth in the tens of billions of dollars in revenue reductions over four years.
Here’s the list, compiled from Treasury Department data.
Year
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President
Name
Average annual revenue reduction over first four years, current dollars
1997
Bill Clinton
Tax Relief Act of 1997
$13.2 billion
2001
George W. Bush
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act
$74.4 billion
2002
George W. Bush
Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act
$28 billion
2003
George W. Bush
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act
$69.2 billion
2004
George W. Bush
Working Families Tax Relief Act
$25.9 billion
2005
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George W. Bush
Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Ac
$22.6 billion
2008
George W. Bush
Economic Stimulus Act
$33.7 billion
2009
Barack Obama
American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act
$76.6 billion
2012
Barack Obama
American Taxpayer Relief Act
$320.6 billion
These measures were not obscure pieces of legislation.
The list includes the two big Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003, arguably the signature domestic policy achievements of his presidency. Among other things, these bills cut rates for the top bracket from 39.6 percent to 35 percent.
The list also includes the extension of many of those tax cuts in advance of their scheduled expiration in 2013 under Obama -- a high-stakes legislative situation known as the "fiscal cliff." (The top-bracket rate was one that did not continue; it rose again to 39.6 percent.)
Trump's statement is ridiculously wrong -- since 1997, nine major tax bills have passed with tens of billions of dollars in cuts. We rate his statement Pants on Fire.
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Our Sources
Donald Trump, speech in St. Charles, Mo., Nov. 29, 2017
U.S. Treasury Department, "Revenue Effects of Major Tax Bills, Updated Tables for All 2012 Bills," February 2013
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Donald Trump wrong that no tax cuts passed since Reagan
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