Yahoo! Finance: The Steep Cost of Tax Cuts Since 2001

Tax cuts enacted since the turn of the 21^st century have added nearly $6 trillion to the deficit while disproportionately benefiting wealthy households, according to a new study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Since President George W. Bush took office in 2001, “significant federal tax changes have reduced revenue by $5.1 trillion, with nearly two-thirds of that flowing to the richest fifth of Americans,” write ITEP’s Steve Wamhoff and Matthew Gardner. “The cumulative impact on the deficit during this period is $5.9 trillion, including interest payments.”

The tax cuts mean that the top-earning 1 percent of households, which take in more than $607,000 annually, will pay $111 billion less in federal taxes this year than they would have under the tax code from 18 years ago. By 2025, the combined effects of tax cuts passed this century will total more than $10 trillion, with about $2 trillion of that going to the top 1 percent of households. Read more

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