Historical Marginal Income Tax Rates

by Catherine Mulbrandon on February 4, 2010

Day 4 of 28 Days of Tax Data.

I always enjoy a graph of the marginal tax rate (i.e. the tax rate applied to the income of the very wealthy by the Federal Government). But I don’t know why they needed a 3-D line? From Starboard Broadside

Second graph is of the same data but not as pretty. From Balloon Juice

Here is one I created in 2007.
Income of top 0.1% vs top marginal tax magnafing glass

Tagged as: Bar Chart, Line Graph, Tax Rates, United States

  • Haakon Dahl

    It would be interesting to see a graph of the unemployment rate applied to your Top 0.1 percent chart, or the “misery index”; the unemployment rate plus the inflation rate.

  • http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/ Jimmie E. Rhodes

    Take a historical graph of the top marginal tax rate and superimpose on it a graph of the historical unemployment rate.

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  • NJEddie

    I wonder how the tax revenue would compare to the top rates? I seem to recall from intermediate Econ that total revenue has risen as marginal rates were cut, every time (albeit with a lag of…? 18 months +/-?).

    I wonder if the data underlying the charts takes into account how much income is “shielded” when rates jump, and how the rates effect discresionary income (example; selling investments to realize a gain)… and how often does the top rate apply only to the top 0.1% ? Juxtaposing these two charts seems to be an appeal to class-envy, and not an expression of any sound economic principle.

  • socaljim

    considering tax rates are meaningless without corresponding loopholes and collected revenue per tax teir, your chart and accompanying chatter are meaningless as well.

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