Learned Hand Quotes

Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes. Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands.

Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes.

I was shocked to see that some of the very wealthiest people in the country have organised their tax affairs, and to be fair it's within the tax laws, so that they were regularly paying virtually no income tax. And I don't think that's right.

Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs so as to make taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor, and do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more taxes than the law demands. Taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions.

The best scheme of finance is, to spend as little as possible; and the best tax is always the lightest.

Have you seen a copy of Tax Tips for Billionaires?

Most people in America understand that the rich people hire good accountants and figure out how not to necessarily pay all the taxes.

...in terms of business mistakes that I've seen over a long lifetime, I would say that trying to minimize taxes too much is one of the great standard causes of really dumb mistakes. I see terrible mistakes from people being overly motivated by tax considerations. Warren and I personally don't drill oil wells. We pay our taxes. And we've done pretty well, so far. Anytime somebody offers you a tax shelter from here on in life, my advice would be don't buy it.

I don't blame anybody for using the tax code to their advantage.

I have no interest in becoming a tax exile and living somewhere I don't want to - I just want to be at home with my family.

I mean I get loads of money, all from different sources. You give it to your accountant. They manage it. But you pay corporation tax. If you're then taking it out and spending it on yourself, you have to pay more.

Most large companies structure their affairs so that they minimize their tax payments. As long as you do it within the law, it's OK.

What I advise clients is, sell, pay the tax and be happy. Don't ask me to find a replacement unless it's land.

The truth is, no one pays more tax than they have to.

It's really American to avoid paying taxes, legally.

I think that Governor Romney operates on the capital gains tax, his investments, what he lives off of instead of doing it off of his income.

I am not evading tax in any way, shape or form. Now of course I am minimizing my tax and if anybody in this country doesn't minimize their tax they want their heads read because as a government I can tell you you're not spending it that well that we should be donating extra.

The avoidance of tax may be lawful, but it is not yet a virtue.

They rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason when it comes to taxes. That is to slip the bill and stick you with it.

Tax has generated a significant amount of discussion, and companies are forced to do what they can to maintain that global competitiveness and perform.

I thought I would spend the rest of my life being a good tax lawyer. The interesting thing about being a tax lawyer is, none of your clients are poor. I had clients come to me and say, 'Can you help us make investments?' That led to me getting into the real estate business.

Working hard to earn more money and then giving it away in higher taxes isn't financially intelligent, even if you do put some of it into a retirement account.

Income splitting is not a wise investment for Canadians.

I know a bit about taxation and the remarkable effort that goes in to avoiding it.

A fool and his money are soon parted. It takes creative tax laws for the rest.