[200] Conversely, Reagan raised taxes eleven times,[201] including the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 amid growing concerns about the mounting federal debt.[202] The bill doubled the federal cigarette tax and rescinded a portion of the corporate tax cuts from the 1981 tax bill. By 1983, the amount of federal tax had fallen for all or most taxpayers, but most strongly affected the wealthy.[203]
Reagan proposed that the tax cuts would not increase the deficit as long as there was enough to offset the increase in revenue as part of the Laffer curve.[204] His policies proposed that economic growth would occur when the tax cuts spur investments, which would result in more spending and consumption.[205] Critics labeled this "trickle-down economics", the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will spread to the poor.[206] Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell argued that these policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s.[207] As for the 1982 tax increase, many of his supporters condemned the bill, but Reagan defended his preservation of cuts on individual income tax rates.