February 11, 1986 04:57 PM | Permalink |
In 1981, President Reagan proposed, and Congress enacted, the largest corporation tax reduction in history. The centerpiece of the program was something called the “Accelerated Cost Recovery System,” a new set of rules for writing off business plant and equipment. The new write-offs, in conjunction with an expended investment tax credit and other tax preferences, were designed to be so large and so generous that they would reduce federal income taxes on the profits generated by new investments to well below zero.