America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation.
—Laurence J. Peter (1919–90) Canadian-born American Educator, Author
The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don’t know when it’s through if you are a crook or a martyr.
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist
Count the day when, turning on its axis, this earth imposes no additional taxes.
—Franklin P. Adams (1881–1960) American Columnist, Radio Personality, Author
Government lasts as long as the under-taxed can defend themselves against the over-taxed.
—Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) American Art Critic, Historian
Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
Death and taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them!
—Margaret Mitchell (1900–49) American Novelist, Journalist
Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
The power to tax is the power to destroy.
—John Marshall (1755–1835) American Judge, Lawyer
The imposition of taxes has its limits. There is a maximum which cannot be transcended. Suppose the citizen to be taxed by the general government to the utmost extent of his ability, or a thing as much as it can possibly bear, and the state imposes a tax at the same time, which authority is to take it?
—Henry Clay (1777–1852) American Politician
I am thankful for the taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed.
—Nancie J. Carmody
Of all our natural resources, the first one to be exhausted may be the taxpayer.
—Unknown
The taxpayer: Someone who works for the government but doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
In levying taxes and in shearing sheep it is well to stop when you get down to the skin.
—Austin O’Malley (1858–1932) American Aphorist, Ophthalmologist
The suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expenses, enabled us to discontinue our internal taxes. These, covering our land with officers, and opening our doors to their intrusions, had already begun that process of domiciliary vexation which, once entered, is scarcely to be restrained from reaching, successively, every article of property and produce.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
It is easier to start taxes than to stop them. A tax an inch long can easily become a yard long. That has been the history of the income tax. Would not the sales tax be likely to have a similar history (in the U.S.)? … Canadian newspapers report that an increase in the sales tax threatens to drive the Mackenzie King administration out of office. Canada began with a sales tax of 2%…. Starting this month the tax is 6%. The burden, in other words, has already been increased 200% … What the U.S. needs is not new taxes, is not more taxes, but fewer and lower taxes.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
The tax collector must love poor people. He is creating so many of them.
—Burton Hillis (William E. Vaughan) (1915–77) American Columnist, Author
In 1790, the nation which had fought a revolution against taxation without representation discovered that some of its citizens weren’t much happier about taxation with representation.
—Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–73) American Head of State, Political leader
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return.
—Gore Vidal (1925–48) American Novelist, Essayist, Journalist, Playwright
The taxpayer—that’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality.
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) American Head of State
I know all those people. I have friendly, social, and criminal relations with the whole lot of them.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
The United States has a system of taxation by confession.
—Hugo Black (1886–1971) American Politician, Jurist
I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist
As the general rule in constitutional states liberty is a compensation for the heaviness of taxation, and in despotic states the equivalent for liberty is the lightness of taxation.
—Montesquieu (1689–1755) French Political Philosopher, Jurist
When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
An income tax form is like a laundry list-either way you lose your shirt.
—Fred Allen (1894–1956) American Humorist, Radio Personality
There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat