Re: GOP v Estate Tax
FOUNDERS ON TAXATION<br /><br />"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. ... A wise and frugal government ...shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. ... Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare but only those specifically enumerated. ... Would it not be better to simplify the system of taxation rather than to spread it over such a variety of subjects and pass through so many new hands?" --Thomas Jefferson<br /><br />"The apportionment of taxes on the various descriptions of property is an act which seems to require the most exact impartiality; yet there is, perhaps, no legislative act in which greater opportunity and temptation are given to a predominant party to trample on the rules of justice. Every shilling which they overburden the inferior number is a shilling saved to their own pockets." --James Madison <br /><br />"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free." --John Adams<br /><br />"It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. ... If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds." --Alexander Hamilton <br /><br />"When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." --Benjamin Franklin <br /><br /><br />OTHER QUOTES ON TAXES<br /><br />"Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets." --Ronald Reagan<br /><br />"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 <br /><br />"Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer." --Ludwig von Mises<br /><br />"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." --Winston Churchill<br /><br />"Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery." --Calvin Coolidge <br /><br />"The current tax code is a daily mugging." --Ronald Reagan<br /><br />"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin." --Mark Twain<br /><br />"Income taxes have made more liars out of the American people than golf." --Will Rogers <br /><br />"Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision." --**** Armey<br /><br /> "The Declaration of Independence, the words that launched our nation -- 1,300 words. The Bible, the word of God -- 773,000 words. The Tax Code, the words of politicians -- 7,000,000 words -- and growing!" --Steve Forbes<br /><br />"The government taxes you when you bring home a paycheck. It taxes you when you make a phone call. It taxes you when you turn on a light. It taxes you when you sell a stock. It taxes you when you fill your car with gas. It taxes you when you ride a plane. It taxes you when you get married. Then it taxes you when you die. This is taxual insanity and it must end." --J. C. Watts, Jr.<br /><br />"Give me a break -- They say taxes are inevitable ... like death. At least death doesn't come every year." --John Stossel
