Taxes and Patiotism

Last week VP Candidate Slow Joe Biden asserted that the rich (however that is currently defined) have a patriotic duty to pay more taxes. Judge Learned hand would disagree with him and in fact did disagree with him in the 1934 case of Gregory vs. Helvering:

"Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes. [my emphasis] Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands."