All taxation is theft.
Taking property against someone’s wishes using the threat of force is theft.
Unless you use a different definition of the word theft…
am I missing something?
they use different definitions of the word theft.
thats exactly what you would expect of thieves… [:P]
Yes, that government gets to dictate what is theft and what is not theft. Taxation is not theft because the legal system says it is not theft.
Most taxation isn’t theft. It is extortion. Only if the extortion fails will they stoop to full on theft.
You are basically correct. Any further corrections are pretty much nitpicking… Except for the fact that if its an all powerful benevolent and omnipotent being doing the theft it’s called taxation.
Some people want to pay taxes… Just sayin…
Would they still want to pay taxes if they didn’t perceive to receive a benefit?
That is, if they paid taxes for garbage disposal without competition, then that might make sense, but if there was competition with better prices and/or service, would it be consistent to keep paying the monopoly prices? Do you normally overpay for the goods and services you purchase? Would a market be possible if people did not treat prices as measurements with which to allocate resources?
Likewise, if they pay taxes, but receive a larger net benefit, then surely that does not make the argument that they believe in paying their fair share, but only a share that entitles them to a larger share in return.
The premise of taxation rests on ignorance and monopoly. If we can reduce ignorance, and undermine monopoly, then taxation is on the endangered ideas list. But if we don’t treat the cause (ignorance) and don’t clearly identify the symptoms (monopoly, violence) then we’re just spinning our wheels.