I was curious of the historic tax rates for the wealthy, or at least the highest levels of taxation. Some of the rate jumps seems arbitrary, others are simply explained by WWI and WWII. But the jumps before our entry seem to be harbingers of our path.
| 1913 | 500,000 | 7.0% |
| 1916 | 2,000,000 | 15.0% |
| 1917 | 2,000,000 | 67.0% |
| 1918 | 1,000,000 | 77.0% |
| 1919 | 1,000,000 | 73.0% |
| 1922 | 200,000 | 58.0% |
| 1924 | 500,000 | 46.0% |
| 1925 | 100,000 | 25.0% |
| 1932 | 1,000,000 | 63.0% |
| 1936 | 5,000,000 | 79.0% |
| 1941 | 5,000,000 | 81.0% |
| 1942 | 200,000 | 88.0% |
| 1944 | 200,000 | 94.0% |
| 1946 | 200,000 | 91.0% |
| 1949 | 400,000 | 91.0% |
| 1952 | 400,000 | 92.0% |
| 1954 | 400,000 | 91.0% |
| 1964 | 400,000 | 77.0% |
| 1965 | 200,000 | 70.0% |
| 1977 | 203,200 | 70.0% |
| 1979 | 215,400 | 70.0% |
| 1982 | 85,600 | 50.0% |
| 1983 | 109,400 | 50.0% |
| 1984 | 162,400 | 50.0% |
| 1985 | 169,020 | 50.0% |
| 1986 | 175,250 | 50.0% |
| 1987 | 90,000 | 38.5% |
| 1988 | 29,750 | 28.0% |
In the 1990’s the rates returned to the 30% plus and the levels fluctuated there until the tax code was rewritten to lower the top rates to the 20% levels.