“If you want to know why Republicans and conservatives are in a political crisis, you need only consider the fact that the Right's deeply held view now boils down to this: Taxes should not go up on the wealthy, and your health benefits should be cut.” IfsKnowsWantNeedsShouldFactsPoliticalViewsCuttingRepublicanTaxesBenefitsCrisisWealthyHealth Benefits Author:John Podhoretz
“Now, the president would like to do tax reform, which would obviously lower rates for most people in America and make the tax code fair and get rid of loopholes and special treatment. But absent tax reform, the president believes the right way to get our fiscal house in order is ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.” PeopleWayBelieveAmericaOrderAsksHousePresidentPayShareSpecialTaxesFairsRateReformCodeTreatmentWealthyRight WayAbsentLoopholesFair ShareTax ReformSpecial Treatment Author:David Plouffe
“The President is destroying the fabric of America with a combined policy of war, tax cuts for the wealthy, and reductions in spending for domestic needs.” NeedsWarAmericaPresidentCuttingPolicyTaxesSpendingWealthyDestroyingFabricReductionTax Cuts Author:Charles Rangel
“Increased revenues, meaning higher taxes, will be a central element of any successful long-term budget plan, and President Obama is right to insist that the wealthy - the slice of America that has come through the recession in by far the best financial health - should provide those funds.” ShouldLongAmericaPresidentTermSuccessfulPlansHigherTaxesElementsFinancialBudgetsLong TermFundWealthyPresident ObamaRevenueRecessions Author:Steven Rattner
“You can't be evangelical and associate yourself with Jesus and what he says about the poor and just have no other domestic concerns than tax cuts for wealthy people.” PeopleJesusPoorCuttingTaxesConcernWealthyAssociatesEvangelicalTax Cuts Author:Jim Wallis
“Congress had the opportunity to extend tax relief to working families without increasing the deficit. Instead, we were handed a bill that favors the wealthy and eliminates deductions that benefit the middle class.” OpportunityClassMiddleTaxesBenefitsBillsCongressFavorsReliefMiddle ClassWealthyDeficitDeductions Author:Rick Larsen
“Cutting taxes is not bad. But if you cut taxes on the wealthy, which is what they wanted to do, you're not helping people who need better schools and better infrastructure and healthcare. You're basically robbing the middle class and the poor to provide tax cuts to the rich.” PeopleIfsNeedsHelpingWantedSchoolPoorClassRichCuttingMiddleTaxesMiddle ClassWealthyHealthcareInfrastructureHelping PeopleTax CutsRobbing Author:Robert Reich
“Jesus refers to the poor over and over again. There are 2,000 verses of Scripture that call upon us to respond to the needs of the poor. And yet, I find that when Christians talked about values in this last election that was not on the agenda, that was not a concern. If you were to get the voter guide of the Christian Coalition, that does not rate. They talk more about tax cuts for people who are wealthy than they do about helping poor people who are in desperate straits.” PeopleIfsNeedsDoeHelpingChristianLastsValuesJesusPoorChristianityCuttingTaxesConcernElectionRateGuidesScriptureDesperateAgendasWealthyVotersVersesPoor PeopleCoalitionsTax CutsHelp Poor People Author:Tony Campolo
“For decades the G.O.P. has won elections by appealing to social and racial divisions, only to turn after each victory to deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy a process that reached its epitome when George W. Bush won re-election by posing as America's defender against gay married terrorists, then announced that he had a mandate to privatize Social Security.” AmericaTurnsSocialProcessCuttingSecurityVictoryGayTaxesMarriedElectionDecadesTerroristWealthyDivisionSocial SecurityDefendersMandatesTax CutsPosingEpitomeDeregulation Author:Paul Krugman
“President Obama unveiled a $4 trillion budget for 2016 that would increase taxes on the wealthy and spend more money on education. He also made a snowball and put it in the oven, just to see which would last longer, his budget or the snowball.” MadeLastsPresidentTaxesIncreaseBudgetsWealthyPresident ObamaMore MoneyOvensSnowball Author:Jimmy Fallon
“Republicans want to punish work and reward wealth; hence the high payroll tax and the low dividend tax. Said one Bush economic adviser, if we can't help wealthy investors and screw working people, what's the point in being a Republican?” PeopleIfsWantSaidHelpingWealthEconomicRepublicanTaxesLowsRewardsWealthyInvestorsScrewsAdviserDividendsPayrollPayroll Tax Author:Paul Begala
“If most of the breaks go to wealthy people it's because most of the people who pay taxes are wealthy.” PeopleIfsPayBreakTaxesWealthy Author:George W. Bush
“For the fifth year in a row, the Bush budget cuts city core services to pay for wealthy tax breaks. And once again, the mayor's requests were not funded.” YearsPayCitiesBreakCuttingTaxesCoreBudgetsWealthyFifthRequestMayorsTax BreaksBudget Cuts Author:Anthony Weiner
“Greece has been, in many ways, a partially dysfunctional society. For example, the wealthy barely pay taxes... to an extent, that's true elsewhere, including the United States, but it's been pretty extreme in Greece.” WayHas BeensStatesUnitedPayUnited StatesExampleTaxesIncludingExtremesWealthyElsewhereGreece Author:Noam Chomsky
“Is this not true--That in proportion to the value of their estates the extremely wealthy pay far less taxes than those of moderatemeans? Compare the amount paid by millionaires with the amount paid by ordinary citizens. I believe that in proportion to their estates they pay less than half as much as ordinary citizens, whereas they ought to pay more.” BelieveValuesI BelievePayHalfOughtAmountCitizensTaxesOrdinaryPaidCompareProportionWealthyEstatesMillionaireOrdinary Citizens Author:Rutherford B. Hayes
“If you're white and wealthy, Texas is a great place, however, no Texas governor Republican or Democrat is eager to raise taxes and without that you can't expand access to health care or decrease the cost of higher education.” IfsCareWhiteEducationHealthHigherRepublicanCostTaxesRaisesDemocratAccessHealth CareWealthyTexasGovernorsDecreaseHigher Education Author:Calvin Jillson
“It is a myth that higher taxes lead to less demand and slower growth. In the first three decades after World War II, US top tax rates on the wealthy were never below 70 percent.” WorldFirstsWarThreeGrowthHigherDemandTaxesPercentRateMythDecadesWar Of The WorldsWealthyWorld War IiWorld War I Author:Robert Reich
“When it comes to giving tax breaks to the wealthy of this country, the President has a heart of gold.” GivingHeartCountryPresidentBreakTaxesGoldWealthyAmerican PoliticsTax BreaksHeart Of Gold Author:Tip O'Neill
“It's one thing to maintain that upper-income earners should pay higher tax rates because they are better able to shoulder the burden for essential government services. But it's constitutional blasphemy to claim that the tax code should be used as a weapon against the wealthy and that the state should be the tyrannical arbiter of how income is distributed.” ShouldStatesGovernmentAbleUsedPayOne ThingHigherTaxesEssentialsWeaponsClaimsRateBurdenShouldersIncomeCodeWealthyBlasphemyArbiterGovernment Service Author:David Limbaugh
“President Lyndon Johnson's administration was known for his War on Poverty. President Obama's will become notable for his War on Prosperity. We're speaking, of course, of Obama's plans to hike income taxes on the most wealthy 2 or 3 percent of the nation. He's not just raising the top rate to 39.6 percent; he's also disallowing about one-third of top earner's deductions, whether for state and local taxes, charitable contributions or mortgage interest. This is an effective hike in their taxes by an average of about 20 percent.” WarStatesCoursesNationsPresidentInterestKnownPovertyPlansTaxesPercentThirdsRateAverageProsperityIncomeLocalsAdministrationContributionWealthyPresident ObamaJohnsonNotableMortgageIncome TaxCharitableDeductionsWar On PovertyPresident Lyndon Johnson Author:Dick Morris
“Republicans favor tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, but these had no stimulative effect during the George W. Bush administration, and there is no reason to believe that more of them will have any today. As for the idea that cutting regulations will lead to significant job growth, it's just nonsense. It's just made up.” BelieveMadeIdeasReasonTodayJobsGrowthCuttingEffectsRepublicanTaxesFavorsSignificantAdministrationCorporationsNonsenseNo ReasonWealthyRegulationTax CutsJob Growth Author:Bruce Bartlett
“The growing inequality of wealth and income distribution is both a moral and economic problem. If the wealthy are unwilling to pay more taxes, then this is going to lead to spending cuts. And if you put off the table things like national defense, then you're going to end up cutting more and more out of programs that aid the poor. So, I think there are consequences to this idea that tolerance for inequality requires us to - to just do nothing to make the wealthy contribute a higher share of resources to fund the government.” IfsThinkingIdeasEndsProblemGovernmentWealthPoorPayMoralCuttingGrowingShareEconomicHigherTaxesConsequenceResourcesProgramTablesSpendingDefenseAidsToleranceIncomeInequalityFundWealthyDistributionUnwillingNational DefenseEconomic ProblemsSpending CutsIncome Distribution Author:Bruce Bartlett
“Even if Bush could be forgiven for taking America, and much of the rest of the world, to war on false pretenses, and for misrepresenting the cost of the venture, there is no excuse for how he chose to finance it. His was the first war in history paid for entirely on credit. As America went into battle, with deficits already soaring from his 2001 tax cut, Bush decided to plunge ahead with yet another round of tax "relief" for the wealthy.” IfsWorldFirstsWarAmericaCuttingBattleCostTaxesDecidedPaidRoundsExcuseCreditFinanceReliefWealthyVentureForgivenSoarDeficitPretensePlungeNo ExcusesTax Cuts Author:Joseph Stiglitz
“President [Barack] Obama's staking his reelection hopes on rebuilding America's middle class. He wants higher taxes on the wealthy, tougher rules on Wall Street, and everyone else to get a fair shot to succeed. Republicans can cry "class warfare" if they want, but as the president put it today, it's about this country's welfare.” IfsWantCountryTodayAmericaPresidentClassStreetsMiddleCryWallHigherRepublicanSucceedTaxesShotsFairsBarackWelfareMiddle ClassWealthyWarfarePresident Barack ObamaRebuildingClass WarfareReelection Author:Chris Matthews
“We need real tax reform which makes the rich and profitable corporations begin to pay their fair share of taxes. We need a tax system which is fair and progressive. Children should not go hungry in this country while profitable corporations and the wealthy avoid their tax responsibilities by stashing their money in the Cayman Islands.” NeedsShouldChildrenRealCountryPayResponsibilityRichShareTaxesFairsHungryReformCorporationsIslandsWealthyProgressiveProfitableFair ShareTax SystemTax ReformCayman Islands Author:Bernie Sanders
“Wealthy people don't even pay taxes. But everybody must pay taxes.” PeoplePayTaxesWealthy Author:Petter Stordalen
“There's one big difference between me and the others - I won't take every last dime of the surplus and spend it on tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy. I'll use the bulk of the surplus to secure Social Security far into the future to keep our promise to the greatest generation.” UseBigsLastsSocialDifferencesCuttingGenerationsSecurityPromiseTaxesBenefitsSecureWealthySocial SecurityDimesTax CutsSurplusGreatest Generation Author:John McCain
“Actually, Congress just did pass a tax plan like Donald Trump`s.They passed a tax plan which some Democrats voted for, significant number of Democrats which gave huge tax breaks to wealthy people and corporations.” PeopleNumbersBreakPlansHugeTrumpTaxesDemocratCongressSignificantCorporationsWealthyTax BreaksSignificant Numbers Author:Lawrence O'Donnell
“We`re going to raise the estate tax for wealthy, very wealthy people.” PeopleTaxesRaisesWealthyEstatesEstate Taxes Author:Lawrence O'Donnell
“Donald Trump got himself very far to the left. When he was considering running for president in 2000, he was for a 13 percent wealth tax on wealthy people to retire the national debt.” PeopleRunningLeftPresidentWealthTrumpTaxesPercentDebtWealthyRetiringConsideringNational Debt Author:Chris Hayes
“The future of the Democratic Party, the future of this country is involving young people in the political process, getting them to stand up for their rights, dealing with student debt, which I got to tell you is just crushing people all over this country, making public colleges and universities tuition free, those are the ideas we are bringing out, demanding the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. This is what younger people, working class people want. That is the future of the Democratic Party.” PeopleWantIdeasCountryYoungPoliticalProcessPartyClassRightsShareStudentsCollegeTaxesFairsDemocraticUniversityDebtCorporationsCrushWealthyWorking ClassDemocratic PartyInvolvingTuitionFair ShareColleges And Universities Author:Bernie Sanders
“Due to the major demographic changes we have gone through in the last few years in this country, we will be a majority/minority nation and there are a large number of people who do not like that. Donald Trump has tapped into those people's fears because he comes from the extreme right wing part of the Republican Party, as does Ted Cruz. They believe that we should cut taxes to wealthy Americans and enforce anti immigrant laws. They don't believe in Education or Social Security, they would end it and change it and privatize it.” PeopleShouldYearsBelieveDoeEndsCountryLastsLawNationsSocialPartyNumbersGoneCuttingSecurityTrumpRepublicanTaxesMajorsMajorityWingsDon't BelieveExtremesDuesMinoritiesImmigrantsWealthyRepublican PartySocial SecurityRight WingLarge NumbersDemographicsCruz Author:Debbie Wasserman Schultz
“[Donald] Trump and all the Republicans believe in the theory of trickle down economics which is a theory discredited even by the author himself David Stockton. The theory suggests that if we take care of the people at the top, if we cut taxes for the wealthy, if we make sure they are doing really well, then the investments that they make in the economy and the jobs that will create, will make everything grow and it will have a trickle down effect on the rest of us.” PeopleIfsBelieveWellsCareJobsGrowsEconomyCuttingEffectsTheoryTrumpRepublicanTaxesEconomicsInvestmentTake CareWealthyTrickle DownTrickle Down Economics Author:Debbie Wasserman Schultz
“It does not help the vast majority of Americans, but it does really well for people already at the top. Well, we're going to turn that upside down. We're going to make the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes for a change.” PeopleWellsDoeHelpingTurnsPayShareTaxesFairsMajorityWealthyUpside DownFair Share Author:Hillary Clinton
“What I have proposed would be paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy, because they have made all the gains in the economy.” MadeWould BeEconomyTaxesGainsPaidWealthyRaising Taxes Author:Hillary Clinton
“Trickle-down did not work. It got us into the mess we were in, in 2008 and 2009. Slashing taxes on the wealthy hasn’t worked. And a lot of really smart, wealthy people know that. And they are saying, hey, we need to do more to make the contributions we should be making to rebuild the middle class.” TaxesMessWealthyWorking ItTrickle Down Author:Hillary Clinton
“A lot of really smart, wealthy people know that [slashing taxes on the wealthy hasn't worked.]” PeopleKnowsTaxesSmartWealthyReally Smart Author:Donald Trump
“Let's stop for a second and remember where we were eight years ago [in 2008]. We had the worst financial crisis, the Great Recession, the worst since the 1930s. That was in large part because of tax policies that slashed taxes on the wealthy, failed to invest in the middle class, took their eyes off of Wall Street, and created a perfect storm.” YearsEyeRememberPerfectClassStreetsMiddleWorstPolicyWallTaxesYears AgoCrisisFinancialEightStormMiddle ClassWealthyRecessions1930sFinancial CrisisGreat RecessionPerfect Storm Author:Hillary Clinton
“Independent experts have looked at what I've proposed and looked at what Donald's [Trump] proposed, and basically they've said this, that if his tax plan, which would blow up the debt by over $5 trillion and would in some instances disadvantage middle-class families compared to the wealthy, were to go into effect, we would lose 3.5 million jobs and maybe have another recession.” IfsSaidJobsLosesClassMillionsPlansMiddleEffectsTrumpTaxesIndependentBlowDebtInstanceExpertsMiddle ClassWealthyDisadvantagesRecessionsMiddle Class Family Author:Hillary Clinton
“I am on record as saying that we need to put more money into the Social Security Trust Fund. That's part of my commitment to raise taxes on the wealthy.” NeedsSocialRecordsSecurityTaxesCommitmentRaisesFundWealthyMore MoneySocial SecurityTrust Funds Author:Hillary Clinton
“Cutting taxes even more on the wealthy and corporations, that's not going to help anybody except the wealthy and corporations.” HelpingCuttingTaxesCorporationsWealthy Author:Hillary Clinton
“It's dark and it's divisive - deporting 11 million people, talking about law and order, calling every group of people in America names, talking about cutting taxes on the wealthy, feeling like Donald Trump can bring more nuclear weapons into the world - I mean, everything he's talked about is a form of change.” PeopleWorldMeanFeelingsAmericaFormLawOrderNamesDarkTalkingMillionsCuttingGroupsTrumpCallingTaxesWeaponsNuclearWealthyNuclear WeaponsLaw And OrderPeople Talking Author:Hillary Clinton
“If top marginal income tax rates are set too high, they discourage productive economic activity. In the limit, a top marginal income tax rate of 100 percent would mean that taxpayers would gain nothing from working harder or investing more. In contrast, a higher top marginal rate on consumption would actually encourage savings and investment. A top marginal consumption tax rate of 100 percent would simply mean that if a wealthy family spent an extra dollar, it would also owe an additional dollar of tax.” IfsMeanEconomicHigherActivityLimitsTaxesPercentGainsHarderDollarsInvestmentRateInvestingIncomeSavingExtrasProductiveWealthyContrastConsumptionTaxpayersSavingsDiscouragingIncome TaxSavings And Investment Author:Robert H. Frank
“If you're a wealthy heir with a trust fund, and you sell stocks, make your 10% gains since Donald Trump, and then you buy other stocks, you can avoid paying taxes. And if your accountant registers your wealth offshore in a Panamanian fund, like Russian kleptocrats do - and as more and more Americans do - you don't have to pay any tax at all, because it's not American income, it's foreign income in an enclave without an income tax.” IfsWealthPayTrumpTaxesGainsSellsIncomeFundWealthyRegisterIncome TaxHeirsAccountantsPaying TaxesOffshoreTrust Funds Author:Michael Hudson
“I don't think most Americans understand that, for certain very wealthy people, our federal income tax system is a subsidy system that makes them richer.” PeopleThinkingTaxesWealthyIncome Tax Author:Hillary Clinton
“The Democrats are going to tax everybody through the roof. It is going to be focused on people that are wealthy because that's who they can tax. When you look at the stimulus plan - see, this doesn't make any sense, this is not working, it's not going to work, it's not intended to work the way we all were told it was gonna work. Health care is not going to get better. It's gonna get worse. It's gonna get rationed. The economy, the energy sector, nothing is being improved here. Everything's being wrecked.” PeopleCareEnergyEconomyTaxesDemocratFocusedHealth CareGet BetterWealthyRoofGoing To Work Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I don't think Democrats are ever going to get excited about cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts to wealthy people. I just don't think that's the direction we should be going in our country. The 1 percent's doing very well in America. They don't need more help. But Medicaid does.” PeopleThinkingCountryHelpingCuttingTaxesDemocratExcitedWealthy Author:Claire McCaskill
“I don't think "Reganomics" will ever fully end. I mean, Reaganomics, to put it simply, was trying to get low taxes for wealthy people. And wealthy people are still there pushing for low taxes.” PeopleThinkingTryingMeanTaxesWealthy Author:Dean Baker
“You know, compromise can't be a dirty word in American politics. There's plenty to argue about. Trump administration is still talking about ridiculous tax cuts for the wealthiest of the wealthy. That should be resisted with every fiber of our being.” CuttingTaxesArguingRidiculousCompromisePlentyDirtyWealthy Author:Hillary Clinton
“The British use a system where the profits a corporation reports to shareholders is what they pay taxes on. Whereas in America we require corporations to keep two sets of books, one for shareholders and one for the IRS, and the IRS records are secret. For publicly-traded companies, the British system would tend to align the interests of the government with the interests of the company because the company wants to report the biggest possible profit. Though, all wealthy countries have high taxes as wealth requires lots of common goods, from clean water to public education to a justice system.” BookCountryInterestWaterWealthJusticeCommonSecretTaxesWealthyCommon GoodJustice SystemPublic EducationClean Water Author:David Cay Johnston