Charles Adams

Charles Adams (1930-2013) was an attorney in private practice and a specialist in international taxation. He wrote extensively on taxes and their impact on civilization, for outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. He was also an adjunct scholar at the Mises Institute and the Cato Institute. Among other books he was the author of For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization.

Articles

Taxes in America
Free Market Charles Adams
The Free Market 18, no. 4 (April 2000) The good news that tax audits and property seizures are down obscures a more important point: by slow degrees, step by step, the tax man in America has gained...
The Rich Won’t Be Soaked
Free Market Charles Adams
The Free Market 24, no. 11 November( 2004) Ludwig von Mises wrote in 1922 that “nothing is more calculated to make a demagogue popular than a constantly reiterated demand for heavy taxes on the rich.”...
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Media

5. The Swiss: From William Tell to No Tell
Charles Adams

King Solomon, king of Israel from 970 to 931 BC, lusted after women as he grew older. He had a thousand wives and concubines. Solomon spent tax moneys for luxurious palaces and his harem. His treasury was soon empty, so he found new ways to drain money from his people.

6. Tax Revolt in the Netherlands
Charles Adams

In this lecture Adams talks about the Enlightenment which was the philosophy of the eighteenth century. It was the high water mark of man’s thinking on taxes. They were wise; we’re not. These thinkers used the past as a guide.

7. After the Magna Carta
Charles Adams

Does liberty sow the seeds of its own destruction? Yes, by consenting to excessive taxes. Government will not want to give up the power. Taxes were to be only for common defense, not offensive wars.

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