Is Taxation Theft?

I doubt it. American citizens make cars. Should they keep them?

 

Yes, and then trade them without the capitalist middle man. One group will make cars, others food, medicine, utilities.

 

Why did you make two threads about the same subject?

 

Taxation's a necessary evil, but only to an extent - that doesn't give the govt free reign to tax as much as they want and spend us into trillions of debt

 

wait... you mean... trade... is theft?

 

Probably, but wages aren't trade.

 

It becomes his burden to run his own company? Some people just want a wage.

I can't help but wonder where he'll store all of his cars to trade.

 

Then they should receive a capitalist-era wage.

The company.

 

Income is the acquisition of anything of value unless exempted by statute i.e. me giving you a dozen eggs from my chickens in exchange for you mowing my grass is a taxable event (though I don't know nothin about nothin if my grass gets mowed *winks*)

 

Not sure how this makes sense

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Makes even less sense

 

It depends on the type of tax you are talking about. Taxes on wages or consumption are theft. Taxes on land values are not theft because you are paying for the privilege of using the force of government to exclude others from an area of land.

When you pay income taxes or sales taxes you do not get anything in return. When you pay land value taxes, you get secure tenure to a piece of land in return. Land value taxes are like a trade, you pay the tax and you get to exclude others from a parcel of land … you get something of value in return.

 

Spoken like a true conservative.

Let's hope under your system of 'I would rather not pay' that your house doesn't catch fire when the Fire Service might decide not to turn up to put it out.

Fortunately, I don't live in your country and have no problems whatsoever in paying taxation for use by the government to create some sort of equality.

 

^_-

yeah they are. "Hey, I need some extra hands to complete a project I have. Will you help?"
"Yeah. I'll trade you my time for ten bucks an hour."
"Okay, that sounds like a fair trade."

 

Wages aren't negotiated, in fact such negotiation is typically fought. And before you mention it, not working isn't a choice.

 

If so repossessing a house, collecting a debt, or requiring a bill to be paid would be theft in the same way. Anyway, when you elected to be a U.S. citizen you gave your permission to be taxed.


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Currency only has value if it is in demand.

 

Of course they are. About the only place you can't walk away from an offer of employment is Jury duty and being drafted into the armed services.


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Not working isn't a choice.​

 

Currency is a medium of exchange between traders. The government becomes a third party taking it's cut. Now I don't say that all taxes are theft but I do think if you understand a government's proper function is that of a rights protector, not a provider of redistributed wealth, then you will understand that a tax should be regarded as payment for services rendered (just as you pay for insurance to protect your assets, you pay for the police to protect you from crime, the military to protect you from foreign enemies and the courts to settle your legal disputes impartially). Taxes become the method of paying those govt workers for their labor. They earned it. Taxes to pay for welfare however (which violates the same philosophical principle as a criminal does when he steals your wallet) isn't paying someone's wages for work. Welfare recipients aren't employed to perform a service. I would say learn the distinction between paying for a service and simply giving folks what amounts to forced charity.

 

Taxation, by the very nature that it is required for the proper functioning of government cannot be considered theft. The legal definition of theft requires there to be deceit on the part of the perpetrator, such as taking under false pretenses.

If you want to talk about taxation being somewhat illegal, then talk about larceny, which is a related, yet differing concept. However, that the Constitution explicitly allows for the expropriation of private property through the means of eminent domain and taxation, taxation is thus, not larcenous under the civil law of the United States.

 

It is, it has unpleasant consequence but it's a choice. Just like drinking and driving; moving to New Jersey; or picking a fight with Mike Tyson is a choice. And even so, not wanting to be unemployed doesn't mean you have to take every job offer you receive.



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Under capitalism you are born into the world with no legal right to use the land that nature provided. You cannot live without access to land. So unless someone is gifting you the use of land, you must work for a landowner or die. The choice of working for someone else's profit as the only alternative to death is not really a negotiation, it is more like an extortion.

 

Sure but taxing it doesn't create that demand. So please explain your previous claim.

 

Which only has value if it's in demand.

 

Yes it does. You have to have the currency to pay the tax.