In the chart above, the lower green line is the U.S. Revenue as a Percentage of GDP from 1934 to 2011. From 1944 to 2011, the Average U.S. Federal Revenue as a Percentage of GDP was a steady 17.8% with the highest being 20.9% of GDP in 1944, during World War 2. From 1944 to 2011, the U.S. Revenue as a Percentage of GDP remained in a relatively constant narrow band, despite the large range of tax rates during this time. (Different Tax Rate Graph from VisualizingEconomics.com and PolicyGrinder.com)
The upper red line is the top marginal tax rate. Despite the large changes in the top marginal tax rate (from 92% in the 1950s to 28% in the 1980s), the U.S. Revenue as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product remained relatively constant.
From 1950 to 1963, the Top Marginal Tax Rate averaged between 91 and 92%. The U.S. Revenue as a Percentage of Revenue during this time was 17.4%.
From 1988 to 1989, the Top Marginal Tax Rate was 28%. The Revenue as a Percentage of Revenue during this time was 18.3% (even higher than the 1950 to 1963 time period).
This observation of a steady U.S. Revenue as a Percentage of GDP is often called Hauser's Law.
Chart created by this techfarm.blogspot.com site, and data from the Tax Policy Center.
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