Taxation is Theft Debate

Theft means taking someone's property without their consent. If we had a system by which taxation had some sort of optional element (e.g. it's up to you but if you don't pay you can't vote) then we could debate the morality of taxation. But from the perspective of the taxed, under the present system, there is no moral element - it's simply beyond your control.

Theft is the involuntary taking of a persons property, money, or labor.Taxation is the involuntary taking of a persons property, money or labor by governmentsimply adding "by government" does not magically transform it into something other than theft...Allow me to quote one of my favorite political philosophers"The fact is that the government, like a highwayman, says to a man: Your money, or your life. And many, if not most, taxes are paid under the compulsion of that

Taxation is not theft, it is an obligation of living in a civilized society. Without a government funded by taxes, your country won't even be long for this world. Another country that has its act together will take over yours and you'll be having this philosophical debate from the comfort of your new country.

Taxation is not theft.If you must, think of it as how you're paying for access to this society.

Taxation might not fit the strict definition of theft (easy when the gov creates its own jargon), but it is the threat of force to take property from someone against their will. I mean, how many of us are giving money directly to the gov by our own volition? I don't know of anyone. We were born into this system and we never agreed to it. Let's at least be honest about that.> There are no examples of large populations of humans (many millions for the definition of large) living we

Whatever tax you owe isn't your money. It's the government's money, and by refusing to pay it, you're stealing from the rest of us. That's the government enforcing our property rights when it uses force to reclaim what's ours.

Taxation is not theft. It is a societal agreement. I know of no society, except extremely primitive hunter-gatherer societies, that has no notion of tax for public services.And even there, you could say everyone is "stealing" from the public goods all the time. (if you hunt and eat an animal, then you have stolen it from the rest of the people).

if tax isn't theft, then the free market will decide to do the same thing..

It's not theft because it is a legally established process for funding the government.You have a say in how taxation works, through the political process. You're part of this system and are fully free to work to end all taxation.And, you don't need to think that taxation is just, or fair, but it is in fact legal and applies to you until you either work to end it or move somewhere where it doesn't apply.Theft is the unlawful, extrajudicial taking of something without

The rationale for calling taxation theft is the compulsory nature of taxation - which applies to states as well as the federal government. If taxation is theft, it doesn't cease to be theft when you like what the thieves spend your money on.