Last week, tax slayer Grover Norquist chimed in on the Ex-PATRIOT Act, legislation that was introduced by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Casey (D-PA). The Senators were concerned that ultra-rich dudes who no longer fancy American citizenship – namely Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin – were turning their backs on the USofA to avoid taxes. This did not sit well with Norquist who opted to make a historical comparison:
“I think Schumer can probably find the legislation to do this. It existed in Germany in the 1930s and Rhodesia in the ’70s and in South Africa as well,” said Norquist. “He probably just plagiarized it and translated it from the original German.”
It took a little while, but Senator Schumer has now responded, taking exception with the comment:
"I know a thing or two about what Nazis did. Some of my relatives were killed by them," Schumer, who is Jewish, said in a speech on the Senate floor. "And saying that a person who made their fortune specifically because of the positive elements in American society in turn has a responsibility to do right by America is not even on the same planet as comparing what the Nazis did to the Jews."
Not to mention how unflattering a plagiarism accusation is.
Schumer fires back at Nazi comparison [HV/The Hill]
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will call on the deficit-reduction supercommittee to lay the foundation for an overhaul of the tax code in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington on Thursday. In an address timed as a response to President Obama’s jobs plan, Boehner plans to restate his opposition to tax increases either to pay for job-creation measures or to reduce the deficit, according to a preview circulated by his office. Yet the Speaker is expected to voice support for closing loopholes as part of broader tax reform, which could include eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and other industries. [