Fact Check

Did Bill Murray Recommend Eating Children's Ice Cream to Teach About Taxes?

A quote attributed to the actor shared on social media originated with a parody Twitter account.

Published Feb. 23, 2017

 (BAKOUNINE / Shutterstock.com)
Image Via BAKOUNINE / Shutterstock.com
Claim:
Actor Bill Murray said in order to teach children about taxes, eat their ice cream.

A meme circulating on social media in late February 2017 attributed a quote about paying taxes to actor Bill Murray, but it was originally shared by a parody Twitter account.

The parody quote stated that "The best way to teach your kids about taxes is by eating 30% of their ice cream":

Bill Murray meme

The twitter account from which it was posted, however, bore this disclaimer:

I AM NOT BILL MURRAY. This is a parody account. This account is not in any way affiliated with the actor Bill Murray.

Before it was finally suspended by Twitter, the Murray parody account posted mostly benign jokes in the casual tone and pithy humor associated with Murray, such as "Trail mix? Oh, you mean M&M’s with obstacles" and "When one door closes another one opens. Or you could jut re-open the closed door. Because that’s how doors work."

The fact the Twitter account was not real, as usual, did not prevent its tweets from being widely shared. For example, in November 2015, the disreputable site PoliticalInsider.com shared the above meme as fact, as did TheFederalistPapers.org.

We were unable to find any genuine comments made by the actor Bill Murray about his feelings on taxes. He also does not have an official Twitter account.

Sources

Kasperowics, Pete. "Actor Bill Murray to CNBC: 'I Think We Ought to Be Personally Responsible.'" The Hill. 10 February 2012.

Shoard, Catherine. "The Gospel According to Bill Murray: Impending Apocalypse, Seatbelt Safety and His Favourite Saint." The Guardian. 20 November 2014.

Read, Max. "Bill Murray on the Bill Murray 'No One Will Ever Believe You' Urban Legend." Gawker.com. 20 July 2010.

Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who has been working in the news industry since 2006.