Tax policy and economic inequality in the United States tax year 1963) to 77% (for tax year 1964) and 70% (for tax year 1965) for annual incomes of $1.4 million+. It was the first tax legislation to reduce the top end of the marginal income tax rate distribution since 1924. The top marginal income tax rate had been 91% since 1946 and had not been below 70% since 1936. The "Bush Tax Cuts," which are the popularly known names of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 passed during President George W. Bush's first term,
Excise tax in the United States impose a 40% "Cadillac tax" on expensive employer sponsored health insurance but that was postponed until 2018. Annual excise taxes totaling $3 billion were levied on importers and manufacturers of prescription drugs. An excise tax of 2.32% on medical devices and a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services were applied as well. Excise taxes on tobacco raised $14.5 billion in fiscal year 2015. The tax equals about $1 per 20 pack of cigarettes. Excise taxes on alcoholic beverages raised $9.6 billion in fiscal year 2015. The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1789, gave the federal government authority to tax, stating