The then and now of U.S. Income Tax

Doesn't this sound a Facebook meme or a recent Warren Buffett quote?

• In general, those individual or corporate tax-payers who received the bulk of their income from personal services or manufacturing were taxed at relatively higher tax rates than others.  On the other hand, individuals or corporations which received the bulk of their income from such sources as capital gains or were in a position to benefit from net lease arrangements, from accelerated depreciation on real estate, from percentage depletion, or from other tax-preferred activities tended to pay relatively low rates of tax. In fact, many individuals with high incomes who could benefit from these pro-visions paid lower effective rates of tax than any individuals with modest incomes. In extreme cases, individuals enjoyed large economic incomes without paying any tax at all.

In fact, that language is verbatim out of the "General Explanation of the Tax Reform Act of 1969."  BTW, when this law was passed, the top U.S. income tax bracket was 70%.  But along with the estate tax, the main effect of the high bracket rates was to create a thriving business for lawyers and accountants in tax shelters.  Law schools even taught classes primarily focused on how to avoid these "stupidity taxes."

Part of the 1969 act was to institute the Alternative Minimum Tax. That tax, and the unintended consequences of it, are part of the of what's on the table in the "fiscal cliff" debate.

Those who forget the past are...sorry, I can't recall the rest.