Albert Bushnell Hart: Paying Taxes Civilizing

Albert Bushnell Hart Money Quotation saying we keep our civilization by paying for our society through investing in an infrastructure. Albert Bushnell Hart said:
 

 

“Taxation is the price which civilized communities pay for the opportunity of remaining civilized” — Albert Bushnell Hart

In this quote, Albert Bushnell Hart is expressing the view that taxation is a necessary cost or “price” that societies must pay in order to maintain civilization. He seems to be arguing that taxes are required to fund the institutions, services, and infrastructure that allow communities and societies to function in an organized, stable manner.

Without taxation to support government functions like security, education, healthcare, transportation and so on, communities would not be able to remain “civilized” in an orderly fashion. So in essence, Hart is saying that taxation, while an economic burden, is the cost or fee that communities must pay for the benefits of organized governance and civilization.

Birthday: July 1, 1854 – Death: July 16, 1943

Terry Pratchett on Menace of Taxes

Terry Pratchett Money Quotation saying taxes threaten us with ominous penalties when we fail to pay outside the rules which allow avoidance. Terry Pratchett said:
 

 

“Taxation is just a sophisticated way of demanding money with menaces” — Terry Pratchett

This quote from Terry Pratchett suggests that taxation amounts to an implicit form of extortion by the government. The best interpretation is that Pratchett viewed paying taxes as a veiled threat rather than a wholly voluntary civic duty, since non-payment can result in penalties, audits, liens or other legal consequences.

According to Pratchett, while taxation is imposed under the authority of law, it still carries an underlying coercive tone of providing funds under threat of potential menaces if one refuses to comply.

The implication seems to be that Pratchett believed the tax system, for all its legitimacy, retains an inherent quality of financially obligating citizens through implicit force rather than genuine consent. Overall, the quote portrays taxation as a sophisticatedly disguised though still compulsory transfer of private wealth to the state.

Birthday: April 28, 1948 – Death: March 12, 2015

Laurence Peter: American Tax Irony

Dr. Laurence J. Peter Money Quotation saying the founding fathers created these United States to avoid the Queen’s heavy tax burden, but we have now exceeded her. Dr. Laurence J. Peter said:
 

 

“America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation” — Dr. Laurence J. Peter

This quote from Laurence J. Peter references the historical context in which the United States was founded. The American colonies sought to break away from British rule in part due to disagreements over “taxation without representation.”

However, once establishing an independent nation, the new American government also recognized the need to collect taxes to fund public services and infrastructure.

Thus, while avoiding taxation was part of the motivation for the American Revolution, the country has since embraced taxation as a necessary function of government.

Dr. Peter’s quote wryly observes this irony – that the U.S. was founded by revolutionaries trying to escape taxation, but it has ultimately become “a land of taxation.”

Birthday: September 16, 1919 – Death: January 12, 1990

Vanya Cohen: Robbery & Taxation Thieves

Vanya Cohen Money Quotation saying the entire federal government constitutes a frightening hoard standing at the ready to collect from all income. Vanya Cohen said:
 

 

“When there’s a single thief, it’s robbery. When there are a thousand thieves, it’s taxation” — Vanya Cohen

Vanya Cohen seems to be drawing a distinction between individual criminal acts versus widespread, institutionalized confiscation of wealth by the state.

The quote suggests that a single bad actor stealing (“a single thief”) is rightly called “robbery,” while a large group in positions of power doing the same thing through legislation and enforcement (“a thousand thieves”) is euphemistically termed “taxation.”

Cohen appears to be implying that the end result – taking money and property from citizens against their will – is similar regardless of scale or legality.

So in essence, the message seems to be that what constitutes “theft” may depend more on who is doing the taking rather than the nature of the act itself.