Robert Reich Quotes

'Obama and Biden want to raise taxes by a trillion dollars.' Guess what? Yes, we do in one regard: We want to let that trillion dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden of all that money going to the super-wealthy. That's not a tax raise. That's called fairness where I come from.

Let's restore sanity and fairness to the tax cut conversation. We simply cannot afford to hand over the bank vault to our nation's millionaires and billionaires while the middle class picks up spare change.

I will never support any tax increase on middle-income earners, ever... If you're not going to eliminate loopholes and exemptions, then I wouldn't support lowering rates.

We Liberal Democrats don't believe we should use the tax structure to champion just one type of family.

Tax reduction has an almost irresistible appeal to the politician.

Instead of giving corporations a big tax cut, let's give the middle class a real, permanent tax cut.

I am in favor of reforming our tax code. It's over-burdensome. It's complex. It's unfair. But the one thing that we have to do is make sure that all Americans receive a tax cut.

Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions so that there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class.

I strongly support tax relief for the middle class.

By keeping most tax rates at present levels, Obama and the Democrats will claim that they have championed tax cuts for the middle class.

I will cut all state taxes by at least one third.

I'm all for lifting the payroll-tax cap, if only to make payroll taxes a little less regressive.

A balanced program for tax reform based upon the common sense idea of lowering taxes out of surplus revenues.

Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.

Contrary to the myth that Mr. Bush cut taxes only for the wealthy, the 2001 tax cut reduced taxes for every income-tax payer in the country.

The share of income that small business people are paying in taxes is the lowest it has been in 65 years - since Obama has cut taxes 18 or 22 times for small business.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.

We need to lower tax rates for everybody, starting with the top corporate tax rate. We need to simplify the tax code. The ultimate answer, in my opinion, is the fair tax, which is a fair tax for everybody, because as long as we still have this messed-up tax code, the politicians are going to use it to reward winners and losers.

Capital gains tax reduction is the ultimate now-nowism.

the most just and equitable tax that can be devised.

We demand a graduated income tax.

We need a tax code where everyone pays his fair share.

It is human nature on the part of those who pay graduated taxes to attack all taxes based on the ability to pay. These are the same complainants who for a generation blocked the imposition of a graduated income tax. They are the same complainants who would impose the type of flat sales tax which places the burden of the government more on those least able to pay and less on those most able to pay.

The Republican party should be beaten, and badly beaten, if we took the attitude of saying that corporations should not, when they receive great benefits and make a great deal of money, pay their share of the public burden [pay taxes].

The Reagan tax reform delivered real fairness, closing loopholes for Washington special interests so that all Americans could keep more of their hard-earned paychecks.