James B. Stewart

“The bar for a chief executive of a public corporation to repudiate a United States president is extraordinarily high. Corporate leaders aren't given their power, prestige, responsibility, and nine-figure pay packages to use the corner office as their personal soapbox.”

“The appreciation of capital assets is already taxed at an extremely favorable rate compared to labor. That's why the rich pay such a low effective tax rate no matter what their marginal tax bracket.”

“A major way that losses are generated in real estate ventures is through depreciation, which is supposed to reflect the way that assets lose value over time. But a well-maintained building typically gains value.”

“The A.M.T. is much reviled by tax experts across the political spectrum for its unintended consequences and fiendish complexity.”

“While there continue to be critics of the Comcast-NBC merger, it's hard to argue that competition in news and entertainment has diminished as a result, given the rise of Netflix and Amazon and the explosion in entertainment options that followed the merger.”

“Cadillacs have been used by every president since Woodrow Wilson.”

“Tax reform advocates generally agree that a fair code shouldn't single out certain groups for favorable treatment at the expense of others.”

“A study by the Federal Trade Commission found that concerns about every vertical merger examined by the commission from 2006 to 2012 were resolved through 'conduct remedies' rather than divestitures, and that all these remedies had been successful at protecting competition.”

“A large and growing body of academic research suggests there are market anomalies that can be exploited to beat a strict index approach. Some of that research has been recognized with Nobels in economic science - William F. Sharpe in 1990 and Eugene F. Fama in 2013.”

“September 2001 turned out to be an unusually bad time to sell stocks: By New Year's Day 2002, little more than three months after the post-9/11 low reached on Sept. 21, the S&P 500 had gained close to 20 percent.”

“The A.M.T. is a parallel system for calculating tax liability intended to ensure that high-income taxpayers pay a substantial amount in federal tax even if they have large deductions or other items to offset income.”

“During his campaign, Donald J. Trump embraced the cause of fiscal responsibility and accused President Barack Obama of shackling the country with a 'mountain of debt.'”

“The rationale for eliminating the alternative minimum tax is that such a backup system should not be necessary if the tax code is fundamentally fair and eliminates all the loopholes that made it possible for high-income taxpayers to escape taxation in the first place.”

“Amazon and Snap both have stories that are compelling for many investors: Amazon has transformed retailing and is destined to dominate it. Snap is reinventing communication, at least for millennials and those even younger.”

“It's often said that the most important qualities in a chief executive are character and judgment.”

“Almost everyone agrees that corporate tax rates need to be cut because of global competition. Companies should not be able to stash earnings overseas tax-free.”

“My experience bears out an adage about airlines: People almost always opt for convenience and price, even while complaining loudly about crowded planes and a dearth of amenities.”

“Republicans seem to be gambling that most Americans won't care about a few rich private equity managers if their own taxes go down, their stock portfolio goes up, and economic growth accelerates.”

“Most European countries fund their low corporate taxes with some form of a value-added tax, on consumption rather than income.”

“For every Tesla or Uber, there's a Valeant Pharmaceuticals or Theranos - two story stocks that seduced an astounding array of prominent investors and supporters based on stories that did turn out to be too good to be true.”