human
entergy corporation and subsidiaries management's financial discussion and analysis methodology of computing massachusetts state income taxes resulting from legislation passed in the third quarter 2008, which resulted in an income tax benefit of approximately $18.8 million. these factors were partially offset by: income taxes recorded by entergy power generation, llc, prior to its liquidation, resulting from the redemption payments it received in connection with its investment in entergy nuclear power marketing, llc during the third quarter 2008, which resulted in an income tax expense of approximately $16.1 million; book and tax differences for utility plant items and state income taxes at the utility operating companies, including the flow-through treatment of the entergy arkansas write-offs discussed above. the effective income tax rate for 2007 was 30.7% (30.7%). the reduction in the effective income tax rate versus the federal statutory rate of 35% (35%) in 2007 is primarily due to: a reduction in income tax expense due to a step-up in the tax basis on the indian point 2 non-qualified decommissioning trust fund resulting from restructuring of the trusts, which reduced deferred taxes on the trust fund and reduced current tax expense; the resolution of tax audit issues involving the 2002-2003 audit cycle; an adjustment to state income taxes for non-utility nuclear to reflect the effect of a change in the methodology of computing new york state income taxes as required by that state's taxing authority; book and tax differences related to the allowance for equity funds used during construction; and the amortization of investment tax credits. these factors were partially offset by book and tax differences for utility plant items and state income taxes at the utility operating companies. see note 3 to the financial statements for a reconciliation of the federal statutory rate of 35.0% (35.0%) to the effective income tax rates, and for additional discussion regarding income taxes. liquidity and capital resources this section discusses entergy's capital structure, capital spending plans and other uses of capital, sources of capital, and the cash flow activity presented in the cash flow statement. capital structure entergy's capitalization is balanced between equity and debt, as shown in the following table. the decrease in the debt to capital percentage from 2008 to 2009 is primarily the result of an increase in shareholders' equity primarily due to an increase in retained earnings, partially offset by repurchases of common stock, along with a decrease in borrowings under entergy corporation's revolving credit facility. the increase in the debt to capital percentage from 2007 to 2008 is primarily the result of additional borrowings under entergy corporation's revolving credit facility. .
|  | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
| --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- |
| Net debt to net capital at the end of the year | 53.5% | 55.6% | 54.7% |
| Effect of subtracting cash from debt | 3.8% | 4.1% | 2.9% |
| Debt to capital at the end of the year | 57.3% | 59.7% | 57.6% |
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Please answer the following question with expressions if necessary.
so what was the growth rate during this time?
assistant
subtract(53.5, 55.6), divide(#0, 55.6)