Jimmy Carter on Tax Reform President of the U.S., 1977-1981

1970s: Tried to extend withholding to interest and dividends

Since 1943, there have been plenty of efforts to expand the withholding scheme. In the 1970s, Pres. Carter attempted to have withholding extended to interest and dividends. This time Americans seemed to understand that having taxes withheld on their interest and dividend earnings before those taxes were actually due would cost them additional earnings. The effort failed, but it was revived a few years later in 1982. With the enthusiastic support of Pres. Reagan, politicians cited the budget deficit as a reason to expand withholding to include dividends and interest earnings. Congress authorized the additional withholding measure in 1982 but it was repealed a month after it went into effect.

Congress uses tax law as goodies for special interests

It was a perennial temptation for Congress to pass tax legislation that was a Christmas tree full of goodies for special interests. In this insidious game, the number of votes available to the sponsors of a tax bill were almost exactly proportional to the number of loopholes added to the legislations.

A doubtful group of representatives would say, "Well, I don't like the bill very much. It doesn't help the miners (loggers, catfish growers, homebuilders, steel industry, beekeepers, oil drillers, small businessmen), and there are a lot of them in my district." Another little section is added to the bill. Only repeated threats of my veto prevented the greedy lobbyists from reaching their goals.

Reform tax structure without tax increases

Shift the tax burden away from low- and middle-income groups

The simplified more progressive tax rate system Carter envisions would eliminate most deductions (including those on home mortgage payments) and would treat all personal income the same. It would modify corporate taxes to discourage corporations from moving their operations to other countries. A detailed comprehensive program of tax reform would not be forthcoming until he would be in office for at least a year.