President Donald Trump has promised the most comprehensive overhaul of the tax system since 1986. That was when a Republican president joined forces with a Democratic House of Representatives and a Republican Senate to lower personal income-tax rates and simplify a messy and outdated tax system. Republican opposition would have doomed President Ronald Reagan’s plans without Democratic support, and the bipartisanship and skilled political leadership needed to push them through don’t exist today.
It’s Been 31 Years Since the Last Tax Overhaul. Here’s Why.
