Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen uses a common political trick of using percentage of GDP as the measure of total federal revenues as opposed to the actual dollar amount of federal revenues collected. The total dollar amount of federal revenues for the years 2017-20 are $3.32, $3.33, $3.46 and $3.71 (estimated) trillion respectfully. Looking at the actual dollars collected, it is hard to make the case that reducing the tax rate hurt the federal government’s ability to do its job.

Walter M. Caskey

Rosenberg, Texas

Does Secretary Yellen think that the business tax cuts had no effect on the unemployment rate, which went from 4.87% in 2016 to 3.5% in 2019? Also, the median household income went from $62,898 in 2016 to $68,703 in 2019, especially benefiting those at the bottom end of the scale. Ms. Yellen seems to ignore the economic statistics the same as most liberals do when talking about the 2017 tax cuts. I expect more from the Treasury secretary.

Roger Werth

Crossville, Tenn.

History has repeatedly shown the Biden administration’s supposition that governments, including our own, can more efficiently allocate and manage commandeered resources to “enhance the skill of our workers and the strength of our infrastructure” is more than a little dubious. Consider the development of a system to deploy technology into near-earth orbit. The federal government spent more than a decade and $7 billion devising a complex “space truck” shuttle—two of the five meeting disastrous ends. In far less time and for a fraction of the cost our private sector in “a race to the bottom” created a system for achieving the same goal with reusable, unmanned rockets that can stick a landing like Buck Rogers was doing in the movies decades before the first government-designed launch vehicle of any kind ever got off the ground.

Tim O’Brien

Imlay City, Mich.

Secretary Yellen states, “The law creates an incentive for U.S. companies to offshore their workers and investments.” I remember well in times past when Democrats repeatedly assured us that taxes don’t influence behavior and that therefore tax rates don’t matter. Indeed, her entire screed is an argument that tax rates do in fact matter and do influence behavior.

Rather than seeking to penalize American companies who adjust their operations to maximize their tax advantage, why not look for ways to incentivize them to stay rather than to leave; in other words, the opposite of what Ms. Yellen is proposing.

Dave Erchull

Tucson, Ariz.

Secretary Yellen fails to mention that since the end of 2017 the less than $50 billion reduction in corporate tax receipts had been more than offset by almost a $100 billion increase in federal personal-tax receipts. One wonders how much more revenue the federal government could collect at a corporate tax rate of zero.

Dimitri Triantafyllides, CFA

Charlotte, N.C.

Janet Yellen’s call for a minimum international corporate tax must be resisted at all costs. Otherwise, it will become a stalking horse for a minimum state corporation tax rate to reverse a so called “race to the bottom” in this country. Such a minimum tax would benefit high-tax states like New York and California and dissuade companies from moving to lower-tax states. Then it is only a small step to calls for a minimum state personal income tax. Taxation competition is good and a check on politicians eager for money to bribe voters with goodies to keep their party in power. Lower taxes in other countries isn’t a race to the bottom. It is much needed competition that promotes efficiency in tax policy.

Dave Palmer

Rockville, Md.

When did Ms. Yellen give up being an economist to become a politician?

Vincent Passanisi

Seal Beach, Calif.