What We Talk About When We Talk About Taxes

On the Media | Oct 7, 2016

After The New York Times revealed last week that Donald Trump could have avoided paying taxes for almost two decades, Trump and his surrogates doubled-down on their assertion that his fiscal maneuvering made him a "genius." But, despite their antipathy towards having to pay taxes, Americans have never taken kindly to the rich shirking their burden. Steven R. Weisman, author of the book The Great Tax Wars and Vice President for Publications and Communications at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, discusses how the American public's views on paying taxes have shifted over time and whether, at this moment, paying them is seen as patriotic or just plain stupid.

Song:

"I Paid My Income Tax Today" by Irving Berlin

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