Because while Reagan lowered the top tax rates, he also eliminated many loopholes that were allowing top earners to effectively pay very little in taxes.<p>At the end of the day, pre-Reagan, a 1 percenter might have had a stated tax rate of 70-80%, but due to the massive amount of loopholes and write-offs, were only paying 25-35% in practice.  Reagan&#x27;s reforms allowed for less loopholes and write-offs, which curbed the effort many were willing to go to for tax avoidance, while also meaning that people were paying about the same as before, but paying closer to their actually stated tax rates.