Is this true? No nation has EVER cut taxes during wartime?

[DireStrike]

In his article on the front page today, Rich Broderick makes a strong assertion:

A recent survey of military conflict revealed that no country that we know of since the beginning of time has ever — ever — cut taxes during a time of war.

Is this true? What survey is he referring to?

(excerpt slightly edited; it was a parenthetical comment.)

[htuttle]

1. I've heard that for some time

I've been hearing writers assert this since the last tax cut.

It wouldn't be that difficult to verify if you were sitting in front of historical tax tables or the Congressional record, and simply looked for tax cuts during 'war years'.

Haven't done it myself, however.

[DireStrike]

2. The comment is NO NATION - not just the U.S.

That would be easy enough to verify - the U.S. alone - but he is saying that no nation in the known history of nations has cut taxes during a time of war. Rome didn't do it, Hitler's Germany didn't do it, Egypt didn't do it, France, China, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Spain, India, Uzbekistan, Babylon, The Ottoman Empire - nobody.

[htuttle]

4. Well, I doubt the Ottoman Empire ever had a tax cut

And the concept simply doesn't make sense if you're talking about a Communist country, so count Russia, China, etc... out.

I think in the history of goverance, tax cuts just aren't that common when you get right down to it.

No country under the feudal system ever had a tax cut in time of war, since that's precisely what a feudal system is for. Taxes go UP in time of war to pay for the war (and include a draft).

Rome certainly never did it that I heard of. Roman taxes tracked the scope of their conquests most of the time. Taxes would pay for a conquest until the local puppets could take over and most of the Legions could be sent elsewhere. Pretty much anywhere in the empire the Legion was engaged, it was a losing proposition financially. Profit came later.

Realistically, for tax cuts the way we think of them, I think you're looking at the last two centuries.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Heard Al Franken quote that many times. NO nation has ever cut taxes

during war time.

[othermeans]

5. Sure One Nation did. Us

[mandyky]

6. Not even the Roman Empire,

as Paul Krugman said on AAR.

[Zynx]

7. That is true. We should really hammer that point home.

A lot of Republicans even say that is among the dumbest ideas they've ever heard.