"Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary…

“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery” is a saying that has been attributed to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) and that has been printed on many images. The quotation was credited to Coolidge by 1955, but there is no evidence that Coolidge said it in the 1920s. Coolidge did use the term “legalized robbery” to describe the inheritance tax.

“There is no need and no business judgment in collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary” was said in 1923 by State Senator Joe Burkett of Eastland, Texas.

Wikipedia: Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (/ˈkuːlɪdʒ/; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was the 30th President of the United States (1923–29). A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. Soon after, he was elected as the 29th vice president in 1920 and succeeded to the presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative, and also as a man who said very little, although having a rather dry sense of humor.

27 May 1923, Austin (TX) Statesman, pg. 1, col. 6:
BURKETT OPPOSES ENACTMENT OF MORE REVENUE MEASURES
Senator Believes Governor Can Prune Bills on Desk About Four Million Dollars
(...)
“There is no need and no business judgment in collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary. To do so breeds extravagance in public affairs and causes discontent.”
(Senator Joe Burkett of Eastland.—ed.)

Google Books
The Reporter
Passaic County Bar Association
1954 (Google Books date may be incorrect.—ed.)
Pg. ?:
“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.” — Calvin Coolidge

6 March 1955, New York (NY)

, “Tax Bites Man” compiled by Frances Rodman, magazine, pg. 58, col. 2:
“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”
Calvin Coolidge.

Google Books
I’m Mad as Hell:
The exclusive story of the Tax Revolt and its leader
By Howard Jarvis with Robert Pack
New York, NY: Times Books
1979
Pg. 118:
Many years ago, Calvin Coolidge said, “Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”

Google Books
Many Happy Returns:
The Story of Henry Bloch, America’s Tax Man
By Thomas M. Bloch
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
2011
Pg. 153:
Calvin Coolidge exclaimed, “Collecting more taxes than necessary is legalized robbery.”

Twitter
Murray Rothbard
‏@LibertarianView
Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery - President Calvin Coolidge
2:02 PM - 20 Jan 2016