Who said die and pay taxes

The only two certainties in life are death and taxes. Back to all quotes. See All Quotes. Logging out…. Logging out You've been inactive for a while, logging you out in a few seconds Franklin would succumb to a combination of illnesses at the age of 84 in Philadelphia on April 17, In what thought to be his last known letter, Franklin wrote to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson on April 8, responding to an earlier inquiry about a boundary dispute involving an area between the Bay of Fundy in Canada and Maine.

Toggle navigation. And one of his last great quotes came as Franklin knew his life was near its end. Many oppose the death tax because it is almost always levied on funds that have already been taxed. Avoidance of double taxation is desirable, but it is by no means always followed. Earnings on which income tax has been paid are usually taxed again when they are spent, either on VAT, or on alcohol or tobacco duty, or on insurance or airline flights.

Corporation tax is charged on the earnings of companies before profits are distributed to investors, then those dividends are taxed again on the recipients as income tax. The rule to be aimed at is that the state should receive its cut once. Other ways of financing government have been tried, but they usually put costs indirectly onto individuals.

The sale of monopolies by Stuart monarchs was unpopular because it put up the prices of things such as salt and soap. More recently, the auctioning of bandwidth to raise revenue has made calls and content more expensive for consumers. One of the strangest taxes has been the National Lottery. It is very largely paid by poor people, and much of it is spent on the pleasures of rich people who patronize operas and art galleries.

And it is entirely voluntary. Yet of all taxes it is probably the least unpopular. About the ASI. Our People. Tax Freedom Day. About Adam Smith.