Henry Ford II Quotes
I’m getting worried. This year I’m paying eleven thousand dollars. And that’s the first time in six years that I’m paying anything. My lawyers take care of it
Ford had asked Iacocca, then the President and the number 2 executive to Ford, if he paid any income tax. Iacocca paid about 50 percent of his income as the maximum bracket at the time was over 70 percent. Ford wanted to help him out. At the time Ford earned millions of dollars every month. One of the things that this quote illustrates is that it would not have mattered with Ford whether the maximum tax rate was 30%, 50% or 70%. He and the other super-rich people were not going to pay much anyway because of the loopholes, the deductions, and gaming the system.
Henry Ford II, 1917–1987, CEO Ford Motor Company, Discussion about personal income taxes, Quoted in Lee Iacocca, Autobiography, 1984
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
At the time Rangel was the Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee which had jurisdiction over tax matters.
This is the basis for the difference between tax evasion which is illegal and tax avoidance which is legal—made so by this Supreme Court decision.
Henry Ford II, sometimes known as "HF2" or "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the eldest son of Edsel Ford and eldest grandson of Henry Ford. He was president of the Ford Motor Company from 1945 to 1960, chief executive officer (CEO) from 1945 to 1979, and chairman of the board of directors from 1960 to 1980. Under the leadership of Henry Ford II, Ford Motor Company became a publicly traded corporation in 1956. From 1943 to 1950, he also served as president of the Ford Foundation.