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Is Getting Rich And Paying Taxes Patriotic? Here’s Why Billionaire Mark Cuban Thinks It Is

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Following recent reporting by The New York Times about President Trump’s tax returns, many of the President’s supporters have expressed the belief that it is “smart” to pay as little taxes as possible. In response, critics have pointed out the inherent inequalities in the tax code, which to many seems to benefit the rich much more than the average wage earner. Yet one question has become a touchstone of debate not only in the nation, but in the race for the presidency…

Is it patriotic to pay taxes?

Popular billionaire investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has a perspective that bridges both the appeal of making lots of money and the responsibility to pay taxes. In a blog post he wrote in 2011, during the waning days of the Great Recession, Cuban explained his belief of why entrepreneurship is not only an essential engine of financial growth, but also a patriotic one. Cuban’s post starts with a simple exhortation:

“Make a boatload of money. Pay your taxes. Lots of taxes. Hire people. Train people. Pay people. Spend money on rent, equipment, services. Pay more taxes.”

Later in the blog post, Cuban not only repeats his call to action, but he also explains how paying taxes is an act of patriotism as well.

“So be Patriotic. Go out there and get rich. Get so obnoxiously rich that when that tax bill comes, your first thought will be to choke on how big a check you have to write. Your 2nd thought will be ‘what a great problem to have,’ and your 3rd should be a recognition that in paying your taxes you are helping to support millions of Americans that are not as fortunate as you.”

What makes Cuban’s point so compelling is that he isn’t just an armchair philosopher about these issues: he has real life experience. The tech entrepreneur, who boosted himself up from his roots in working-class Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is now worth over $4 billion according to Forbes.

Perhaps what stands out most about Cuban’s perspective is that getting rich and paying taxes isn’t an either/or proposition. It’s a yes/and opportunity – yes, you should try and get rich, AND when you do, you should pay your taxes. Sure it is required by law, but it’s also important to pay them with intention – with the recognition that they serve a value and a benefit to your fellow citizens.

Certainly Cuban’s perspective is not universal, and there are many principled conservatives, libertarians, and others who deeply believe that taxes and government spending is not only unhelpful to entrepreneurs, but is even harmful to those who the government intends to help. But what Cuban said then, and has reiterated since, is that taxes shouldn’t be a punishment of generating wealth — they are a responsibility that comes alongside of it.

More recently Cuban, who has reportedly considered running for president himself, has proposed a range of ideas about how the government can more efficiently, and entrepreneurially, stimulate the nation’s recovery. He also has continued to demonstrate leadership through his philanthropic activities, and even his general expressions of human compassion. All of that has made Cuban not only a popular TV personality, sports team owner, and investor, but also one of the more optimistic leaders in America.

So will others embrace Cuban’s perspective on the patriotism of paying taxes? In this overheated political season, particularly in the midst of a deep recession, the answer is likely no. But one thing is certain: Mark Cuban continues to show how making money and making a difference by paying taxes isn’t a contradiction…

It’s a combination that can help make America strong again.

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