“One man’s tax loophole is another man’s vested right” is a popular saying in Washington, DC about tax reform. “One man’s loophole is another man’s equity” was said by Rep. Thomas B. Curtis (R-Mo.) in 1962. “One man’s tax ‘loophole,’ it appeared, is always another’s vested right” was cited in 1963.
 
Sen. Russell Long (D-La.) said in November 1975:
 
“What is a loophole? That is something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.”
     
 
Wikipedia: Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long (November 3, 1918 – May 9, 2003) was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987, and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for fifteen years from 1966 to 1981.
 
22 November 1959, Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, “Assignment: Washington” by Ed Koterba, pg. 4, col. 6:
This business of so-called loopholes got Rep. Howard Baker (R., Tenn.) to thinking. He asked r=expert Hellenbrand: “Just what is a loophole?”
 
Deadpan, the tax man replied: “A loophole is a deduction that I can’t make use of.”
 
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20 August 1962, Deseret News and Telegram (Salt Lake City, UT), “What Type Of Tax Reform Is Needed?” by Raymond Lahr (UPI), pg. A15, col. 3:
Rep. Thomas B. Curtis (R-Mo.) read the President’s remark about the “tax reform that logic and equity demand” and asked:
 
“What in the name of heaven does that mean? We on the Ways and Means Committee try to figure out what is logical and equitable and that is the whole issue.
 
“One man’s loophole is another man’s equity.”
 
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25 January 1963, The Times-News (Hendersonville, NC), “Solons Are Smiling On Tax-Cut Plans, Snubbing Reforms” by Frank Eleazer (UPI),
One man’s tax “loophole,” it appeared, is always another’s vested right, and usually is essential to the national welfare besides.
 
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12 September 1967, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Tax Reform Sentiment Reported Building” (New York Times), pg. 6-A, col. 3:
HECKLER (Rep. Ken Heckler, D-WV—ed.) SAID that when he told Johnson that “tax reforms must come first,” the President listened thoughtfully, but observed, “what’s one man’s loophole is another man’s living.”
 
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20 September 1968, The Bend (OR), “Another effort being made to close up tax loopholes” (editorial), pg. 4, cols. 1-2:
Congress often talks about tax reform. But it seldom does anything about it. That’s because one man’s loophole is another man’s vested right. For each citizen who finds something in the income tax laws to complain about there’s another who says he has to have that same something to stay alive.
(...)
After all, tax reform is to get rid of the other fellow’s loophole, not yours.
 
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27 April 1969, The Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, FL), “Reforming Taxes Close To Home” by Waldo Proffitt Jr., g. 2-C, col. 7:
BUT BEFORE YOUR blood pressure gets dangerously high, remember what President Nixon said about tax reform. “It’s bound to be controversial…One man’s ‘loophole’ is another man’s ‘incentive.’”
 
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14 May 1972, The Bulletin (Bend, OR), “One man’s loophole” (editorial), pg. 4, col. 1:
One man’s loophole is another man’s vested right. The standard references detailing the origin of noteworthy quotes don’t contain any listing of that one. Perhaps it hasn’t been around long enough. The book-writers pay lots of attention to William Shakespeare and Robespierre. They have not yet got around to those who write tax laws.
 
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10 June 1972, Lewiston (ME) Evening Journal, “Deep In The Heart Of Taxes” by Clayton Fritchey, pg. 4, col. 6:
(Retiring Secretary of the Treasury John—ed.) Connally’s response is, “Loopholes? Loopholes? What loopholes? One man’s loophole is another man’s bread and butter.”
 
Google News Archive
23 March 1976, Milwaukee (WI) Journal, “Tax Reform No Hot Political Issue in ‘76” by Peter Milius (Washington Post Service), Accent, pg. 2, col. 5:
“We ought to stop playing games with the American people,” Sen. Russell Long (D-La.) told the Senate in that tax debate last November, “and start facing these things for what they are. What is a loophole? That is something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform….”
 
Google News Archive
19 October 1976, The Bulletin (Bend, OR), “Taxes: One man’s loophole is another’s right” by Robert W. Chandler, pg. 5, col. 2:
In general usage, however, a loophole sometimes has come to mean any difference in the tax laws which affects someone else in a different fashion than it affects you. One man’s loophole, in other words, becomes another man’s vested right.
   
Tax Foundation
Tax Humor
April 04, 2008
By Alicia Hansen
(...)
“A tax loophole is something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.’’
—Russell B. Long, former U.S. Senator