Quote:
Originally Posted by Goofle
Stealing is a form of aggression, I would argue. And if you consider being taxed equivalent then stealing falls totally in line with the NAP.
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I agree that stealing is a form of aggression. It's an active harm, done by one person or entity to another, to the detriment of the party that's stolen from.
Where I lose the thread is how taxation, under our current government, could be considered theft, and therefore an act of aggression. I'm not aware of any definition of theft that comports with a civil society that chooses their representatives, on a regular, repeating basis who then set taxation rates, which pay for a bevy of programs and institutions, some specifically provided for by the Constitution, others implied. Anti-taxers (fittingly, as ill informed as anti-vaxxers) seem to have a problem with civilization as a whole. They'll rail how the implicit threat of force by the state makes 'taxation' not voluntary and therefore an act of violence. There are plenty of uninhabited islands in Micronesia, ripe for anti-state, anti-tax folks to settle down. With all the no roads and lack of hospitals their non-tax dollars (well, I guess shells) to not pay for.
"Taxation without Representation" was the rallying cry of the Founding Fathers. 'Taxation is Theft' is the childish whine of the Sovereign Citizen and the anarchist.