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Needless to say, most of us have heard the expression “nothing in this life is certain but death and taxes”. This expression would be true for everyone except the Queen of England (which has recently been remedied) or part of a religious group or cult; all of which have found a loophole to avoid paying taxes. For the rest of us, the dreaded ordeal of paying taxes is something we do on a daily basis.
Often the first cited use of “death and taxes” comes from famed Declaration of Independence co author, Benjamin Franklin. In a letter to a friend Franklin wrote:
“Our Constitution is in actual operation. Everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
Others believe the quote stems from The Yale Book of Quotations, The Cobler of Preston or The YBQ which all were written in the early 17th century and all refer to the quote “Death and Taxes”
Regardless of where the original term came from, the meaning and saying remain remain true to this day; that you can escape almost anything, but “death and taxes”; you are stuck with.
