When making out your income tax, it’s better to give than to deceive.
—Arnold Glasow (1905–98) American Businessman
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
Taxes are not good things, but if you want services, somebody’s got to pay for them so they’re a necessary evil.
—Michael Bloomberg (b.1942) American Businessperson, Public Administrator, Entrepreneur
The power to tax is the power to destroy.
—John Marshall (1755–1835) American Judge, Lawyer
The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.
—Barry Goldwater (1909–98) American Elected Representative, Businessperson, Politician
Taxes are paid in the sweat of every man who labors.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
The tax-exempt privilege is a feature always reflected in the market price of (municipal) bonds. The investor pays for it.
—Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) American Jurist
The tax collector must love poor people. He is creating so many of them.
—Burton Hillis (William E. Vaughan) (1915–77) American Columnist, Author
Civil servants and priests, soldiers and ballet-dancers, schoolmasters and police constables, Greek museums and Gothic steeples, civil list and services list—the common seed within which all these fabulous beings slumber in embryo is taxation.
—Karl Marx (1818–1883) German Philosopher, Economist
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
It’s getting so that children have to be educated to realize that “Damn” and “Taxes” are two separate words.
—Unknown
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Taxes and golf are alike, you drive your heart out for the green, and then end up in the hole.
—Unknown
If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The POWER of taxing people AND their property IS essential TO the very existence of government.
—James Madison (1751–1836) American Founding Father, Statesman, President
The repose of nations cannot be secure without arms. Armies cannot be maintained without pay, nor can the pay be produced without taxes.
—Tacitus (56–117) Roman Orator, Historian
Milk the cow, but do not pull off the udder.
—Greek Proverb
What a benefit would the government render to itself, and to every city, village, and hamlet in the States, if it would tax whiskey and rum almost to the point of prohibition! Was it Bonaparte who said that he found vices very good patriots? “He got five millions from the love of brandy, and he should be glad to know which of the virtues would pay him as much.” Tobacco and opium have broad backs, and will cheerfully carry the load of armies, if you choose to make them pay high for such joy as they give, and such harm as they do.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
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
I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
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
What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Taxes grow without rain.
—Hebrew Proverb
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
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
There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program—your tax-dollar will go further.
—Wernher von Braun (1912–77) German-born American Engineer, Scientist
America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation.
—Laurence J. Peter (1919–90) Canadian-born American Educator, Author
In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
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