I knew federal policy caused a lot of the Great Depression; here's what the states did to kick the economy repeatedly in the shorts...

Last night, Art Laffer mentioned that many states started their income and sales taxes during the Great Depression. I knew about the many, amazingly stupid, federal tax increases during the GD-- but was unaware of those at the state level. Interesting-- and another detail to share about how govt caused the length and depth of the GD.

The following numbers come from Table 14 (p. 40-41) of this data source (hat tip: Dagney Faulk)...

State taxes imposed during the Great Depression:
-19 of the 41 states with an income tax (as of 1993)
-19 of the 44 with a corporate income tax
-24 of the 45 with a sales tax
-20 of the 50 with an excise tax on cigarettes
-29 of the 32 with an excise tax on alcohol