A Question for Tax Time: Why Do We Tax?

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from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:


A Question for Tax Time: Why Do We Tax?
March 30, 2013

Years ago, right after World War II, America’s most famed corporate tax lawyer gave an answer that had the nation’s super rich squirming.

By Sam Pizzigati


April 15 is fast approaching, and Americans are naturally thinking about taxes. But most of us won’t be thinking about taxes the same way Americans once did. Over the past half-century, we’ve had a profound transformation in our attitudes toward income taxation.

How profound? Consider the tax perspective of Randolph Paul, the corporate tax attorney who helped shape federal tax policy during and after World War II.

Randolph Paul probably thought about taxes — and their role in our society — as deeply as any American of his time. Paul lived and died taxes, literally. In 1956, he slumped over and passed away while testifying about tax policy before a U.S. Senate committee.

Paul’s tax career had started decades earlier. In 1918, just a few years after the federal income tax went into effect, Paul began specializing in tax law. By the 1930s, he had become one of Wall Street’s top tax experts. His clients ranged from General Motors to Standard Oil of California, and probably no one in America knew the tax code — loopholes and all — any better. ..............................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/a-question-for-tax-time-why-do-we-tax/

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