“The only role other than paying their taxes, whatever those are, the only role for philanthropy broadly - of which the rich should give disproportionately - the more, the better - and I think there is a positive trend in that direction - there are certain risk-taking things, like trying out a new type of charter school or funding a new kind of medicine.” ThinkingGivingShouldTryingKindSchoolCertainRolesRichRiskTypeTaxesMedicineTrendsPhilanthropyFundingRisk-takingCharterCharter Schools Author:Bill Gates
“If you want to really sort of quantify the dereliction of the Republican establishment, those two facts are the most important two facts. One, that they didn`t even understand the base of their own party, white working class voters who you know what, don`t care about tax cuts for the rich, really aren`t interested in the things that the elite part of their party want, including immigration reform. And number two, they spent eight months avoiding finding opposition research to use against the guy who was becoming the front-runner in their party that they don`t want.” IfsKnowsWantTwoImportantFactsUseCareGuyWhitePartyNumbersClassRichCuttingFrontsMonthsBecomingRepublicanTaxesFindingsResearchIncludingDon't CareEightImmigrationReformOppositionVotersEstablishmentElitesWorking ClassRunnersAvoidingTax CutsImmigration ReformWho You Know Author:Chris Hayes
“Hillary Clinton, told a reporter that she and Bill aren't truly well-off, even though they're incredibly rich because they pay income taxes like everybody else. In fact, she says, they were so poor when they left the White House, they could hardly afford Bill's website memberships.” WellsFactsHouseLeftWhitePoorPayRichTaxesBillsClintonIncomeWhite HouseReportersWebsiteIncome TaxMembership Author:Peter Sagal
“Why do you think there's so many thousands of Cuban doctors in Florida? Because they all had to leave Cuba. Because doctors were rich, and so the [Fidel] Castro government began confiscating all their property. Not much different from this plan to tax you at a higher rate if you and your family, you and your spouse make over $250,000. You're rich! So they must confiscate more your money.” IfsThinkingDifferentGovernmentRichPlansHigherTaxesDoctorsPropertyRateOur FamilyFloridaSpouseCubaCubanCastro Author:Rafael Cruz
“When I became finance minister in 1991, I discovered that the wealth tax rates income - there was taxation on wealth. It was so atrocious and so high that actually nobody could accumulate money in an honest way. I removed that tax, and the result was that Indian companies for the first time acquired an incentive to grow big, to grow rich.” WayFirstsBigsGrowsWealthResultsCompanyRichHonestTaxesFirst TimeRateIncomeFinanceIndianMinistersTaxationIncentives Author:Manmohan Singh
“You've got to ask yourself, why won't Donald Trump release his tax returns? I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he's not as charitable as he claims to be. Third, we don't know all of his business dealings, but we have been told through investigative reporting that he owes about $650 million to Wall Street and foreign banks. Or maybe he doesn't want the American people to know that he's paid nothing in federal taxes.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWantFirstsMayHas BeensReasonAsksMillionsRichStreetsWallReturnTrumpCoupleTaxesThirdsClaimsPaidReleaseCharitableDealingsTax ReturnsFederal Taxes Author:Hillary Clinton
“If you're a rich guy, the best thing you can do is demand tax increases on the rich. That way the poor guy will leave you alone. The middle class and the poor will leave you alone.” IfsWayGuyCan DoPoorClassRichMiddleDemandTaxesIncreaseBest ThingsMiddle ClassTax Increases Author:Rush Limbaugh
“So many theories. But all of them have one thing in common: They demonstrate that although Trump isn’t much of a businessman, he is rich enough to hire good tax attorneys who will hand over huge stacks of forms for him to sign blindly. That’s a helluva qualification for president, isn’t it?” EnoughHandsFormPresidentCommonRichOne ThingTheoryHugeTrumpTaxesBusinessmanAttorneyQualifications Author:Kevin Drum
“In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich are finding more tax loopholes to expect; so when are the people going to basically roll up their sleeves and say, we've had enough, we're going to recapture Congress.” PeopleEnoughBigsAmericaRichHavensTaxesFindingsCongressCorporationsIslandsIrelandSleevesHad EnoughFleeingLoopholesBig CorporationsCayman Islands Author:Ralph Nader
“They have two aspects. One is that they're unpredictable, and that often rich and more affluent households are slow to spend the funds. The other thing about tax cuts is that they're redistributive. So they tend, naturally, to benefit those who pay tax.” TwoPayRichCuttingTaxesBenefitsAspectFundHouseholdUnpredictableTax CutsAffluent Author:Judy Woodruff
“People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids - all while the very rich become much richer.” PeopleCountryKidsAbleJobsHoursRichSeeingCollegeTaxesLowsTiredChinaIncomeDecentWagesBillionaireIncome TaxCollege EducationTired Of Working Author:Bernie Sanders
“That's an important Obama accomplishment: he raised taxes back to Bill Clinton levels, and made a major dent in inequality doing so. That's certain to be reversed, that's going to disappear. The Republicans are going to slash the rich's taxes.” MadeImportantCertainLevelsRichRepublicanTaxesMajorsBillsClintonRaisedDisappearInequalityAccomplishment Author:Jonathan Chait
“I think liberals should accept that if we want big programs that significantly reduce inequality - and we should - it's going to require higher taxes on everyone. The rich can certainly do more, especially given their stupendous income increases since the Reagan era, but they can't do it all.” IfsThinkingWantShouldBigsGivenAcceptingRichHigherTaxesProgramIncreaseIncomeInequalityEras Author:Kevin Drum
“We just watched this budget debacle right? Seventy-three percent of Americans want to tax the rich. Why can't the politicians respond to that? Because they are the rich. And they are beholden to the rich. It's a captured system.” WantThreeRichPoliticianTaxesPercentBudgetsSeventiesCapturedDebacles Author:Bill Ayers
“If you want to see where Trump is moving, look at what the United States neoliberals advised Russia to do after 1991, when they promised to create an ideal economy. Russia was under the impression that the neoliberal advisors were going to make Russia as rich as the United States. What they really did was create a kleptocracy that was virtually tax-free.” IfsWantLooksStatesMovingUnitedUnited StatesEconomyRichTrumpTaxesIdealsRussiaImpressionAdvisors Author:Michael Hudson
“I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn't like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low.” PeoplePresidentRichCuttingTaxesBenefitsWeaponsMassLowsCriticismDestructionClaimsResponseIraqHearingAll TimeRacistSuggestionsLiedWeapons Of Mass DestructionMass DestructionKatrinaAll Time Low Author:George W. Bush
“When Obama talks about raising taxes on the rich, he's looking at me.” RichTaxesRaising Taxes Author:Kenny Chesney
“There's this notion that Republicans are the party of Jesus and the Democrats are the Godless party. Let's be clear for a minute. One party wants to give health insurance to the poor and the weak and the dispossessed, and one party wants to take away that health insurance and give tax breaks to rich people. You tell me: which side would Jesus fall on that argument?” PeopleWantGivingFallJesusSidesPoorPartyBreakRichClearMinutesRepublicanTaxesArgumentWeakDemocratNotionRich PeopleTax Breaks Author:Reza Aslan
“So, what people are actually left with to spend is maybe 25 to 30% of their income on goods and services, after paying taxes and after paying the FIRE sector (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate). Whether it's housing insurance or mortgage insurance. So there's an idea of distracting people. Don't think of your condition. Think of how the overall economy is doing. But don't think of the economy as an overall unit. Think of the stock market as the economy. Think of the rich people as the economy. Look at the yachts that are made. Somebody's living a lot better. Couldn't it be you?” PeopleThinkingRealEconomyRichTaxesFinanceRich PeopleThink Of YouMortgageYacht Author:Michael Hudson
“It used to be that we taxed property - zapped farmers basically. And there were very rich people who didn't pay that much tax. So in 1913, they put in the income tax. It was incredibly popular. The tax we love to hate today.” PeopleTodayHateRichTaxesPropertyFarmersRich PeopleIncome TaxLove Hate Author:T.R. Reid
“It was an easy thing to tax for a young country. And then gradually we moved to property taxes, manufacturing taxes, and the income tax was the answer to a populist demand: Let's go after the rich guys. We got into World War I, and they raised the rates and started taxing the rich. Then we got into World War II, and that's when they taxed everybody, because they just needed more revenue.” WorldWarCountryGuyEasyRichTaxesMovedPropertyRateWar Of The WorldsWorld War IiWorld War IIncome TaxPopulist Author:T.R. Reid
“France, they're the world champion at soaking the rich on taxes. And at one point, they had what they called a hyper tax, 75 percent, and Gérard Depardieu and many others left the country.” WorldCountryRichTaxesChampionHyper Author:T.R. Reid
“The Democrats have so corrupted our understanding of economics and productivity that lowering tax rates is now considered to be some kind of sop to the rich. I mean, it's just profound to me, the damage inflicted on this country by the Democrats in their pursuit of perpetual power.” KindMeanCountryUnderstandingRichTaxesProfoundDemocratRateProductivity Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I sit in the Senate, and see what Republicans are often advocating, it's those kind of tax loopholes for the richest of the rich or, frankly, for corporations and giving incentives for them to move jobs and opportunity overseas.” GivingKindMovingOpportunityRichRepublicanTaxesGiving In Author:Cory Booker
“I can't see the Democrats working with Donald Trump on tax reform unless the rich get soaked. The thing about this that should be worrisome is that if this alliance happens, if they're not bluffing, if they're serious, and if my scenario gets close, it's not gonna be the Democrats adopting Trump's agenda. It's gonna be the other way around.” RichSeriousTaxesDemocrat Author:Rush Limbaugh
“If you cut taxes on the rich, they'll get so excited and go into so much busy economic activity, that the economy will grow and your tax revenues will actually rise. So cut taxes, collect more taxes. It is a miracle.” EconomyRichCuttingEconomicTaxesMiracleBusyExcited Author:Greg Palast
“We are seeing a working-class, a middle class, which over the last three decades has seen their wages and income stagnate, while the very rich have seen their tax burden lighten in ways not seen in three or four decades. It's a face of a country that we need to look at and understand that inequality is perhaps the greatest threat to our economic recovery and democracy, and in that context we must take action.” CountryActionDemocracyRichEconomicTaxesThreatBurdenRecoveryInequalityMiddle Class Author:Katrina vanden Heuvel
“We aren't protecting the people who most need it when those who can contribute to the country's success emigrate. Contrary to what some claim, I am not getting rid of the wealth tax to help the rich.” PeopleHelpingWealthRichTaxes Author:Emmanuel Macron
“What the Trump tax plan is a plan to give tiny little tax cuts to most Americans, raise taxes on perhaps one in five families and shower benefits on people who earn millions of dollars a year. And this fits with a fundamental principle the Republicans have been pursuing for a long time. The rich aren't investing and creating jobs, because they don't have nearly enough money, and so we need to get them money. And the way the Republicans want to get it to them is tax cuts first, and then to take away help for children, the disabled, the elderly and the poor.” PeopleGivingChildrenLongEnoughHelpingPoorRichCuttingFitRepublicanTaxes Author:David Cay Johnston
“The Bush Republicans' policies are, the antithesis of patriotic. And so we urge Democrats to reclaim patriotism - to call on all Americans to pull together. And, yes, to sacrifice. Rich people will have to do with fewer tax cuts. Middle class people will need to drive less and switch to more fuel efficient cars . And poor folks - especially young ones - will have to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies and other indicia of social pathology.” PeopleTogetherPoorRichCuttingSacrificeCarPolicyTaxesDemocratMiddle ClassPatrioticPregnancyRich PeopleAntithesisYoung Ones Author:Paul Begala
“Look, rich people already have a lot of money. There's literally trillions of dollars in cash held by corporations, their stock valuations at an all-time high. They do not need a tax cut to do anything. They can invest now, if they wanted to. They don't want to, because they can make more money just by mergers and stock buybacks and stuff like that. So, this is really just sort of a travesty.” PeopleRichCuttingTaxesRich People Author:Keith Ellison
“Politicians like to talk about the income tax when they talk about overtaxing the rich, but the income tax is just one part of the total tax system. There are sales taxes, Medicare taxes, social security taxes, unemployment taxes, gasoline taxes, excise taxes - and when you add up all of those taxes [many of which are quite regressive], and then you look at how they affect the rich and the poor, you essentially end up with a system in which the best off 20 percent of Americans pay one percentage point more of their income than the worst off 20 percent of Americans.” PoorRichWorstSecurityPoliticianTaxesIncome TaxMedicare Author:David Cay Johnston
“When you say the tax system benefits the rich, there are a lot of people who respond, "That can't be true, look at the rate of tax. The people who are rich pay a higher rate than you or I." Well, yeah, but if you don't have to pay taxes on a lot of your income, then your real tax rate is a lot lower. And if you're allowed to pay your taxes thirty years from now instead of today then you're a lot better off. People need to have a sophisticated understanding of how the system works to appreciate that the posted tax rate really has very little to do with the taxes people pay.” PeopleRealTodayUnderstandingRichTaxesAppreciateRateBeing TrueSophisticated Author:David Cay Johnston
“The 'fiscal cliff' is a ruse, an invention by the right and the rich, to try and keep their huge tax breaks.” TryingBreakRichHugeTaxesInventionCliffsTax BreaksFiscal Cliff Author:Michael Moore
“I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: 'try being rich first'. See if that doesn't cover most of it. There's not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job.” PeopleIfsWantTryingFirstsEndsJobsAsksHoursRichFameTaxesRelativeBeing RichPaying Taxes Author:Bill Murray
“Using taxes to punish the rich, in reality, punishes everyone because we are all interconnected. High taxes and excessive regulation and massive debt are not working.” RealityRichTaxesDebtMassiveRegulationInterconnectedHigh Taxes Author:Rand Paul
“Taxes are important. President Bush's tax proposals leave no rich person behind. Voters approve of President Bush helping the kind of people they wish they were one of.” PeopleKindPersonsImportantHelpingLiteratureWishPresidentBehindsRichTaxesVotersProposalPresident BushRich Person Author:Andy Rooney