Russell Simmons Called Out by FBN's Charles Payne on Complaints Taxes Too Low
As FNC's Geraldo Rivera appeared in New York City for his Geraldo at Large show on Sunday night to give attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests, participant and music mogul Russell Simmons sparred with FBN's Charles Payne after Simmons complained that his taxes were too low and claimed that his employees pay more taxes then he does.
When Payne jumped in to suggest, "you could have written an extra check," Simmons shot back: "Why am I gonna write a, that's a dumb thing."
Payne mocked Simmons's refusal by cracking, "Because you feel patriotic."
After Simmons indicated that he contributes money to charities instead of donating more taxes, Payne challenged the music mogul on a credit card business Simmons apparently earns money from, and whether such a business is what the protesters Simmons supports are complaining about. Payne:
But, listen, you have a credit card company, you have a credit card company, and you charge people interest to use those cards. Isn't that what they're railing about? It's not a free card. How did you make $100 million?
Simmons again defended his refusal to voluntarily contribute more taxes:
The point I'm making is that I'm not knocking corporations. I'm knocking the game they're playing. I'm not knocking the players, I'm knocking the game. And what I'm telling you is that this country allows too much access to their politicians by too much interests and too much money. It's really simple. And I'm happy to pay more taxes, but I'm not going to pay more taxes alone. I'd rather give it to my charities.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Sunday, October 9, Geraldo at Large on FNC:
GERALDO RIVERA: Let me jump on Russell Simmons here. How you doing, Russell? ... so, hi, what you doing? Why are you here, Russell?
RUSSELL SIMMONS: I've been coming to this protest since these kids first started. It's a pretty simple message that they're conveying. ...
SIMMONS: A simple message: It's too much money to Washington. Get the special interests and the corporations out of our government, let the people govern. It's a simple message. It's not a, it's not-
RIVERA: How does that work realistically? Charles Payne, enter into the discussion here.
SIMMONS: Realistically, you get some legislation, somebody like some conservative Democrat or John McCain or Lieberman or somebody, write some legislation, sweeping legislation to keep, and then all the issues they talking about, whether it's the, last time I was here there was this big rally over at the industrial complex rallying and supporting putting people in jail.
RIVERA: Where does it all go, Russ?
SIMMONS: And then the unions come here, and they're being disempowered. And then we take jobs offshore and that's another way of disempowering the working man.
CHARLES PAYNE, FBN: Can I jump in here?
SIMMONS: All of these things are a result of undue power that the corporations and special interests have over our government.
RIVERA: Charles Payne, Fox News Business colleague, you've called this a sham, Charles. Why?
SIMMONS: And I don't pay taxes. The reason I don't pay taxes is because-
RIVERA: What do you mean you don't pay taxes?
SIMMONS: I don't pay as much, I got a check for $100 million, I gave away 10 million in bonuses to my employees and they all pay more taxes than me, and the reason I didn't pay taxes is because of the loopholes and because of all of the opportunity that-
PAYNE: Well, you could have written an extra check, though, an extra check-
SIMMONS: Why am I gonna write a, that's a dumb thing,
PAYNE: But here's the thing, let me ask you this-
SIMMONS: -why am I, ask a question, why am I going to write a check-
PAYNE: Why not?
SIMMONS: -if I'm going to write a check that's going to support-
PAYNE: You feel patriotic.
SIMMONS: -education?
PAYNE: But, listen, you have a credit card company, you have a credit card company, and you charge people interest to use those cards. Isn't that what they're railing about? It's not a free card. How did you make $100 million?
SIMMONS: The point I'm making is that I'm not knocking corporations. I'm knocking the game they're playing. I'm not knocking the players, I'm knocking the game. And what I'm telling you is that this country allows too much access to their politicians by too much interests and too much money. It's really simple. And I'm happy to pay more taxes, but I'm not going to pay more taxes alone. I'd rather give it to my charities.
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Comments
Backed into corner, changes tune
Submitted by American Delight on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:14am.
First Simmons complains that his personal tax rate is lower than his employees, then when Payne asks why Simmons didn't just write another check to the IRS, Simmons shuffles and says, I'm actually here to knock corporate tax evasion. Well, why didn't you say so??
"claimed that his employees
Submitted by forest on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:18am.
"claimed that his employees pay more taxes then he does."
Bentley-Bolsheviks who go around making this claim need to start coughing up their tax returns.
Even if Simmons gets all of his income from capital gains at 15%, he's still paying half of all of his employees' payroll taxes. Unless his "employees" are actually 1099 contractors, in which case he can get in deep doo-doo for going around saying they are his "employees".
Whatever the case, I doubt his employees pay more taxes than him by percent or by total.
Audit in Order?
Submitted by Birch Barlow on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:18am.
If Russell's employees are paying more taxes than he is, the IRS might want to look into auditing this guy.
an audit
Submitted by misterbee241 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:54am.
will never happen. simmons is an obama supporter.
Then why does he not support the Republicans?
Submitted by octavioj on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:29am.
These people just contradict themselves. The chairman of the budget committee even has a video on the budget committee website talking about closing the exemptions and lowering the rates. But still they complain about the Republicans. Go figure.
Would it be racist to call
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:49am.
Would it be racist to call Simmons' act a shuck-and-jive?
Talk about changing the subject!
First it's about taxes. Then it's about fat-cat corporations influencing the government.
The best part:
Simmons indicated that he contributes money to charities instead of donating more taxes,
Well, there you go. Simmons wants to decide where his money goes, but denies that option to others
You know what, Russell? A lot of other people want to do that too, but because they are so burdened with taxes, they can't contribute to causes they support! And you don't think they should have that choice.
You rich liberals think that charity means giving to the government so that it can re-distrubute that money to others.
For everyone but yourselves.
Sometimes, MB...
Submitted by DumbCanuck on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:53am.
... I'd wish you'd adopt me. (sorry about the imagery, there... ;)
"There... Are... Four... Lights!"
Weave and bob=
Submitted by almostacowboy on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 12:07pm.
schuck 'n' jive.
Every Hollywood Elite and other Richie Rich
Submitted by Ashrak on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:50am.
who is talking about taxes being raised has to be confronted with this same reality.
The only answer they will have is the very one Russell was forced to give - that HE wants to put HIS money where HE wants to, rather than give it to government.
In being confronted directly, and I thank a REAL journalist for asking the questions of substance directly, the Russells of the world will become embarrassed by their own answers as they pertain to their anti TEA Party rants. WHY is that? It is because they find themselves saying the same things that TEA Partiers are saying and have been saying all along.
How does that Ghandi saying go again.......?
Tax The Rich electioneering has just lost its primary cheerleaders all because of one question posed - so long as it is asked over and over again. For if those who are railing about more taxation respond by paying more on their own - they will then have no choice but to say it - that they are already giving up enough of their own money - which is the central focus of the TEA Party. Their only other option is to hush up about increasing taxes. They lose either way! Such is the product of outright hypocrisy - eventually.
Here is the real goal of the occupy protests. The left always thinks that it can go ten times left of where they think the right is and then call for "compromise in the middle". This whole occupy theme is just a rehash of that trite political strategy and this time, finally, the foolishness of it all is on display in ways not even the Old Media filter can disguise.
Stand your ground, folks, because we are winning this fight for Liberty by embarrassing one hypocrite at a time.
The reason his tax rate is "lower"
Submitted by bkeyser on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:01am.
is because he chooses to take his money in capital gains rather than income; everybody knows this. If he wanted to pay more taxes without writing an extra check, he could simply take a salary and pay withholding taxes like his employees. He could reinvest or profit share his capital gains, but he doesn't, because of the tax shelter. Nothing wrong with it, but it pure hypocrisy to claim unfairness in the system than voluntarily reap the benefits from it.
Funny how charitable donations and tax increases is an either/or situation. Almost makes you wonder what might happen to non-profits when the rich have to give their money to government instead. And why, Mr. Simmons, do you chose to give money to charities rather than the government? It's almost as though you think it'll be better spent by the charities... Hmmm...
Barriers to Entry
Submitted by Unsane on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:14am.
Russell Simmons is really whining that the economy is too dynamic and that his position is not firmly entrenched, and that therefore he wants the government to raise barriers to entry to protect him.
This cannot be said enough. Whenever the successful are seen crying that their tax rates are too low, THAT is what they truly mean. Never be fooled.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Who gets the goodies?
Submitted by Pilgrim1949 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:18am.
Even little Russie is not so obtuse as to notice that his giving to "my charities" is a far more efficient and effective means to get the maximum bang for the carefully-selective dollars he's willing to part with.
Man, he can tap dance a faster tattoo than Bo Jangles could ever have dreamed of doing.
"Ye canne change the laws of physics....." but some politicians believe that with the right legislation you can pretend they don't really apply to your own pet projects...
Has the Tea Party fallen off
Submitted by okie-pastor on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:19am.
Has the Tea Party fallen off the earth?
I haven't seen a large tea party rally in a long time!
The difference...
Submitted by Unsane on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:27am.
The TEA Party is made up of citizens who actually have jobs and families. In short, the TEA Party consists of people who actually have lives.
I'd imagine you won't see another big TEA Party rally until around the 15th of April or so.
Conservatives make very poor revolutionaries. We'd rather work hard and do what we need to do in life. The spoiled rich kids you see in the Occupy Wall Street rallies, on the other hand, are being thoroughly coddled by mommy and daddy, while others are paid agents of Rent-A-Mob. So revolution is easier for them and more luxuriant.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Yep. I also heard that some
Submitted by okie-pastor on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:55am.
Yep. I also heard that some of them have quit their jobs to join the protests! How backwards is that?
More luxuriant
Submitted by Model850 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:59am.
Indeed. And they even admit it!
“On my third day, they had smoked salmon with cream cheese. You know how much smoked salmon is a pound? Sixteen dollars. I eat better here than I do with my parents!”
I would also add that this is
Submitted by okie-pastor on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:01am.
I would also add that this is just an attempt by union leaders, big business liberals, and left wing accomplices to emulate the tea party. To make it seems "grassroots", They are organizing in different states.
Occupy wall street is AstroTurf pure and simple!!!!!!!
Absolutely
Submitted by Unsane on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:32am.
Oh, no doubt. They have organized in this small Texas college town as well, sad to say.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
i think Payne asked a very
Submitted by sometimesright on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:32am.
i think Payne asked a very simple question. if you feel so darned strongly about standing strong with these "kids" and their message then what's stopping you from "contributing" above and beyond? what a hypocrite. who the heck are u protesting then?
Simmons the Pharisee
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:11am.
Did you catch that?
"I gave away 10 million in bonuses to my employees and they all pay more taxes than me"
You see? he gave it to his employees as a present!
Simmons is a hypocrite
Submitted by e30 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:14am.
"SIMMONS: And then the unions come here, and they're being disempowered. And then we take jobs offshore and that's another way of disempowering the working man."
Simmons has made hundreds of millions from clothing that is manufactured in India and China.
to all you super Rich Liberals who feel-
Submitted by JIMMY1660 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:18am.
you do not pay enough taxes-write the check out to the US Treasury.
Mr Simmons Company make profits of $100M-Profits.
Wow , he should pay more, he wants to pay more-BUT he does not.
He wants the middle class to pay.
Two Words come to mind:
F*** Y**
I'm face down in the mud and dirt, broke, who shared that sacrifice with me.
No lets make it three words:
BIG F*** Y**
Congress and the Senate-career politicians-are very wealthy- WHEN THEY LEAVE OFFICE HOW DOES THT HAPPEN.
The focus needs to be on Washington DC not Corporations
Nancey Pelosi when Speaker , spend our tax-dollars on planes, booze and food for her and family.
i want that expenditure audited and make her pay back the tax payers.
to all you super Rich Liberals who feel-
Submitted by JIMMY1660 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:18am.
you do not pay enough taxes-write the check out to the US Treasury.
Mr Simmons Company make profits of $100M-Profits.
Wow , he should pay more, he wants to pay more-BUT he does not.
He wants the middle class to pay.
Two Words come to mind:
F*** Y**
I'm face down in the mud and dirt, broke, who shared that sacrifice with me.
No lets make it three words:
BIG F*** Y**
Congress and the Senate-career politicians-are very wealthy- WHEN THEY LEAVE OFFICE HOW DOES THT HAPPEN.
The focus needs to be on Washington DC not Corporations
Nancey Pelosi when Speaker , spend our tax-dollars on planes, booze and food for her and family.
i want that expenditure audited and make her pay back the tax payers.
Simmons got nailed on his
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:33am.
Simmons got nailed on his massive web of hypocrisy and he's upset.
ROFL! Outstanding!
what a hypocrite!
Submitted by kata on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:35am.
He spent a lot of money lobbying Capitol Hill trying to make sure they didn't put their thumb on his RushCard but other companies can't do the same thing.
"I have worked all of my adult life as an advocate for the poor, the voiceless and the under-served," he wrote. "Debit cards are what keep the under-served -- including minorities, immigrants, the poor, soldiers, veterans and students -- from the claws of payday lenders and check cashers, from humiliating lines waiting to cash their paychecks and then more lines to pay their bills."
But what of those debit cards?
"Prepaid cards like the RushCard have all the fees associated with the worst bank accounts but don't encourage you to develop a banking relationship that helps you develop assets," said Ed Mierzwinski, director of the consumer program at U.S. PIRG, a federation of state Public Interest Research Groups. "That particular card has practically a fee for looking at it."
He fully utilizes all available tax loopholes so he can do what he wants with his money but shame on anyone else who wants to do the same.
He recognizes the power that comes with having money, but heavens forbid anyone else get that power.
source for quotes
Disconnected
Submitted by Unsane on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:43am.
This guy has just demonstrated how disconnected he is from the everyday.
I know plenty of soldiers, sailors, Airmen and Marines. Almost every single one of them have those evil debit cards. And I have yet to hear of a case of one of them, or any other of the troops, going to a payday lender.
Maybe this joker considers USAA to be an evil, predatory lender of some sort? (Well, what I CAN tell you is that USAA had to stop their debit card rebate program, which netted me and perhaps others considerably more than interest payments on checking did. Why? Dodd-Frank. So much for the government "caring" about "the little guy".)
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Dodd and Frank
Submitted by kata on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:55am.
is pretty much synonymous with screw the little guy.
Simmons is a useful idiot
Submitted by Delsa on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:41am.
He pays tax deductible bonuses to employes so HE can avoid paying taxes!
Simmons wants US to pay his taxes.
Schmuck
Rush Card
Submitted by e30 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:48am.
Rush Card PrePaid Visa Card
Monthly Plan:
3.95-14.95 one time fee
9.95 monthly fee ($120 a year for a prepaid credit card?) Most "evil" banks don't charge that much for a regular card.
1.00 every time you use your pin number at a point of sale.
.50 balance inquiry fee
2.50 atm fee for every withdrawl after the first two of the month. (doesn't include atm owner fee)
2.00 to enroll in bill pay
1.00 for each bill pay
This card is not beneficial to anyone but Simmons and he has the nerve to complain about banks?
ok wow.
Submitted by kata on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:54am.
that's just.... wow. Ok I am going to go down to my credit union and hug someone.
Russell Simmon's Rush Card
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 2:28pm.
Looks like the media is complaining about the wrong company when it comes to ripping off debit card holders. Bank of America's $5.00 per month plan looks like a steal of deal in comparison.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
What's the matter, Russell? Writing a check is too hard?
Submitted by drsamherman on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 12:42pm.
Nobody said you had to claim all of your deductions or use every tax break available to you. Just file and pay without taking any advantage of those.
Nothing worse than a lazy limousine liberal hypocrite.
Typical
Submitted by Bob K on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 1:33pm.
liberal hypocrit
Giving more money to the Feds is stupid.
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 2:29pm.
So, Russell Simmons says giving more money to the feds is stupid, if it's voluntary. So giving more money to feds, when it's compulsory is a smart thing?
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
It'll be compulsory for us, not him.
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 11:15pm.
He'll just pass the cost along to the "little guy" he pretends to be for. He's still pimpin' an stealin'. Nothing more.