Federal Revenues Have More Than Tripled Since 1965

Overall tax revenues have risen despite a recent decline due to the recession. Congress cut income taxes and the death tax in 2001 and capital gains taxes and dividends in 2003, yet revenues continued to surge even after the tax cuts were passed.

INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS (2010)

In Depth

• Policy Papers for Researchers

  • FACTSHEET ON APRIL 15, 2011Taxes Are Not Too Low: It’s the Spending, Stupid
  • BACKGROUNDER ON DECEMBER 14, 2010How to Fix the Tax Code: Five Pro-Growth Policies for Congress

• Technical Notes

  The charts in this book are based primarily on data available as of March 2011 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The charts using OMB data display the historical growth of the federal government to 2010 while the charts using CBO data display both historical and projected growth from as early as 1940 to 2084. Projections based on OMB data are taken from the White House Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The charts provide data on an annual basis except… Read More

• Authors

  Emily GoffResearch Assistant
  Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy StudiesKathryn NixPolicy Analyst
  Center for Health Policy StudiesJohn FlemingSenior Data Graphics Edito