“We were giving advice for the single-worst idea to come forward from a group that's been rife with them, it would be this: The idea is this: Let's make the tax code of America better for very rich people; let's give substantial tax relief to the richest people we can find. Forget about the person making $40,000 a year and paying Social Security payroll tax. Forget about all those other people paying income tax; we're here to give tax relief to the richest 2% of America.” PeopleGivingYearsPersonsIdeasWould BeAmericaSocialForgetRichGroupsWorstAdviceSecurityTaxesIncomeCodeReliefSocial SecurityRich PeopleIncome TaxGiving AdvicePayrollPayroll Tax Author:Barney Frank
“Look, I think the worst case scenario is obvious. I think first of all it doesn't work for very long. It's an unstable government that raises taxes and destroys the image we're building for Canada as a strong place to invest.” ThinkingFirstsLooksLongGovernmentStrongCasesWorstBuildingTaxesRaisesObviousCanadaScenariosUnstableWorst Case Scenario Author:Stephen Harper
“In enforcement, you always have to have both a focus on the really worst actors - you know, gang bangers, in this case, drug dealers, that sort of thing - but also routine enforcement because think about, for instance, the IRS. They don't say, OK, well, if you're not a money launderer, it doesn't matter whether you fill your tax return out right or not. They have both. They go after the really bad actors and they have a kind of general, routine enforcement.” IfsThinkingKnowsWellsKindMatterActorsCasesFocusWorstReturnDrugTaxesInstanceRoutineEnforcementGangDealerIrsDrug DealersTax Returns Author:Mark Krikorian
“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
“As a businessman, Donald Trump has been associated with some of the worst excesses of a particular style of value-extracting and asset stripping capitalism: set up businesses, let them fail, avoid paying suppliers, use bankruptcy laws to avoid taxes for decades, then set up another business somewhere else. It is this model that is the cause of many problems we see today.” Has BeensUseProblemTodayLawValuesCausesFailingWorstStyleParticularTrumpTaxesModelsCapitalismDecadesAssetsExcessBusinessmanSomewhere ElseBankruptcyStrippingSuppliers Author:Mariana Mazzucato
“79 senators, including that great conservative Elizabeth Warren, said they didn't like the medical device tax, so we will go at that law - which in my view is the single worst piece of legislation passed in the last half century - in every way that we can.” WaySaidLastsLawViewsHalfPiecesWorstCenturyTaxesIncludingConservativeMedicalDevicesSenatorsLegislationGreat Conservative Author:Mitch McConnell
“The worst loophole is what Donald Trump has talked about: the tax deductibility of interest. If you let real estate owners or corporate raiders borrow the money to buy a property or company, and then pay interest to the bondholders, you'll load the company you take over with debt. But you don't have to pay taxes on the profits that you pay out in this way. You can deduct the interest from your tax liability.” IfsWayRealInterestPayCompanyWorstTrumpTaxesPropertyProfitDebtCorporateOwnersLoadEstatesLiabilityLoopholesRaiders Author:Michael Hudson
“So get this. On 9/11, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's hometown was attacked by the worst terrorist attack in the history of the United States. Young men and women - young men and women signed up to serve in the military to fight terrorism. Hillary Clinton went to Washington to get funds to rebuild her city and protect first responders, but Donald Trump was fighting a very different fight. It was a fight to avoid paying taxes so that he wouldn't support the fight against terror.” MenDifferentFightingSupportWorstMilitaryProtectTaxesMen And WomenClintonTerrorTerrorismTerroristFundHometown Author:Tim Kaine
“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