I think it's quite bad to focus on rates. Given that there are usually loop holes and tax incentives it becomes necessary to look at tax burden as a percent of

I think it's quite bad to focus on rates. Given that there are usually loop holes and tax incentives it becomes necessary to look at tax burden as a percent of GDP. The people who make the argument you mentioned are wrong. If lower taxes always lead to greater economic growth then the optimal tax burden would be 0%. But this would mean there is no government and we'd be in an anarchy. Does anyone really think an anarchy is the optimal way to grow an economy?