Overtaxed Taxpayers Attack Taxes …

0 Comments | Insight on the News, April 30, 2001 | by Ted Hayes, | Stephen Goode

Now that it's income-tax time, for the people thought readers might enjoy some of the things the famous and the not-so-famous have said throughout the years about paying taxes. The following were gleaned from a variety of sources, but mostly come from the Internet. Have fun!

Not surprisingly, humorist Will Rogers is a great source of commentary on taxes, as these three comments testify:

* "Income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf."

* "The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." Indeed, Rogers added: "Death is a lot better than taxes. You only die once."

* "Alexander Hamilton started the U.S. Treasury with nothing -- and that was the closest our country has ever been to being even."

Mark Twain was no slouch, either, when it came to sizing up what taxes mean: "What's the difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist? A taxidermist only takes the skin."

And how about this one, from Albert Einstein, which shows the feelings of the common man are shared even by the very, very bright: "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."

Or Ronald Reagan's witty summation of what it means to pay taxes: "A taxpayer is someone who works for the federal government but who doesn't have to take a civil-service examination."

In the 18th century, radical Tom Paine, the author of Common Sense, had this to say: "There are two distinct classes of men ... those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes."

Or this one from the late entertainer Arthur Godfrey: "I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money."

... What Even More Attack on Taxes

A lot of what people have said about taxes comes from that source named "Anonymous," as are the following:

* "Ambition in America is still rewarded ... with high taxes."

* "It is hard to believe America was founded to avoid high taxation."

* "Americans are now in a daze from `intaxification.'"

* "Congress thinks it's a lot easier to trim the taxpayers than expenses."

* "Golf is a lot like taxes: You drive hard to get to the green and then wind up in the hole."

* "Nothing makes a person more modest about their income than to fill out a tax form."

* "It's too bad for the middle-income person. He earns too much to avoid paying taxes and makes too little to afford paying them."

* "Income tax is Uncle Sam's version of `Truth or Consequences.'"

* "Loafing is the only way to beat the income tax."

* "The average man knows as much about the atomic bomb as he does about his income-tax form."

* "What the present income-tax form needs is a section which would explain the explanations."

* "When making out your income-tax report, be sure you don't overlook your most expensive dependent -- the government."

* "Income tax is the fine you pay for thriving so fast."

* "Making out your own income-tax return is something like a do-it-yourself mugging."

* "A harp is a piano after taxes."

* "Wouldn't it be grand if the politicians would fight poverty with something besides taxes?"

* "With a trillion-dollar budget, it ought to be possible to set aside enough money to teach the IRS the basic English necessary to write a readable income-tax form."

* "The average man now lives 31 years longer than he did in 1850. He has to if he wants to be able to pay his taxes."

* "Benjamin Franklin had an axiom, `A penny saved is a penny earned.' But that was before the sales tax was invented."

* "The reward for saving money is being able to pay our taxes without borrowing."

Let us hear your ideas for this feature. Write to Insight, For the People, 3600 New York Ave. N.E., Washington, DC 20002. Fax: (202) 529-2484. E-mail: Insight@wt.infi.net.