Then and now: Why 1986 tax bill was everything 2017's isn't
Paul Wiseman, Ap Economics Writer
Updated 12:32 pm, Tuesday, December 5, 2017 WASHINGTON (AP) — They don't do tax reform like they used to.
The legislation that House and Senate Republicans have embraced has revived memories of Congress' most recent major tax overhaul three decades ago.
But the similarities tend to end there.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was everything this year's version isn't. It was the product of a year and a half of spirited deliberations. It won support from both Democrats and Republicans. Its benefits flowed more to ordinary taxpayers than to corporations and wealthy individuals. And it added nothing to the federal deficit.
Assessing the measure on its 20th anniversary, the conservative Tax Foundation said it "stands as a rare example of bipartisan support for fundamentally sound tax policy."
That was then.
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http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Then-and-now-Why-1986-tax-bill-was-everything-12406944.php