I've looked at the income taxes versus growth in the US... and I've been unable to find any obvious relationship. As one of many possible examples, below is a table showing the highest marginal federal income tax rate and year-over-year real GDP growth in the US since 1950.
My conclusion, so far: There's a tremendous amount of theory, and rhetoric, and posturing, and straw-man arguments... but very little or ZERO actual evidence that national economic growth is impacted one way or another. If anything, the data seems to show higher economic growth during periods of higher taxation!
Highest US Real
Year Tax Rate GDP Chg
1950: 84.4% 8.7%
1951: 91.0% 8.0%
1952: 92.0% 4.1%
1953: 92.0% 4.7%
1954: 91.0% -0.6%
1955: 91.0% 7.1%
1956: 91.0% 2.1%
1957: 91.0% 2.1%
1958: 91.0% -0.7%
1959: 91.0% 6.9%
1960: 91.0% 2.6%
1961: 91.0% 2.6%
1962: 91.0% 6.1%
1963: 91.0% 4.4%
1964: 77.0% 5.8%
1965: 70.0% 6.5%
1966: 70.0% 6.6%
1967: 70.0% 2.7%
1968: 75.3% 4.9%
1969: 77.0% 3.1%
1970: 71.8% 0.2%
1971: 70.0% 3.3%
1972: 70.0% 5.3%
1973: 70.0% 5.6%
1974: 70.0% -0.5%
1975: 70.0% -0.2%
1976: 70.0% 5.4%
1977: 70.0% 4.6%
1978: 70.0% 5.5%
1979: 70.0% 3.2%
1980: 70.0% -0.3%
1981: 69.1% 2.5%
1982: 50.0% -1.8%
1983: 50.0% 4.6%
1984: 50.0% 7.2%
1985: 50.0% 4.2%
1986: 50.0% 3.5%
1987: 38.5% 3.5%
1988: 28.0% 4.2%
1989: 28.0% 3.7%
1990: 28.0% 1.9%
1991: 31.0% -0.1%
1992: 31.0% 3.5%
1993: 39.6% 2.8%
1994: 39.6% 4.0%
1995: 39.6% 2.7%
1996: 39.6% 3.8%
1997: 39.6% 4.4%
1998: 39.6% 4.5%
1999: 39.6% 4.8%
2000: 39.6% 4.1%
2001: 39.1% 1.0%
2002: 38.6% 1.7%
2003: 35.0% 2.9%
2004: 35.0% 3.8%
2005: 35.0% 3.5%
2006: 35.0% 2.9%
2007: 35.0% 1.9%
2008: 35.0% -0.1%
2009: 35.0% -2.5%
2010: 35.0% 2.6%
2011: 35.0% 1.6%
2012: 35.0% 2.2%
2013: 39.6% 1.8%
2014: 39.6% 2.5%
2015: 39.6% 2.9%
2016: 39.6% 1.6%
2017: 39.6% 2.4%
2018: 37.0% 2.9%
Sources:Year-over-year real GDP growth: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=pssP
Tax rates: https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highes...