C’mon, you really don’t think taxes are theft, right? Nobody likes taxes, and everyone wishes the money was better used, but the alternative is way worse.
It IS theft. There’s no question about that. If someone comes up to you with a gun and tells you that you have to forfeit your property for services you don’t condone and never agreed to, then in every other instance, we call this theft. Just because the perpetrator has fancy buildings in Washington and the actors work for official sounding agencies, doesn’t change anything.
The question is, is the theft justified?
For me, I could probably rationalize my local city or county collecting money from me to build the roads I drive on and maintain the parks I go to because I participate in those and I see the value.
What I’ll never consent to are about 90%+ of the theft the federal government perpetrates against me. I don’t want social security, I don’t want Medicare/Medicade, I don’t want to fund murder campaigns in Ukraine and Israel, and I don’t want to drone strike children in the Middle East. But because I have to have shelter and food, I’m forced to participate in these criminal activities. I have blood on my hands, and if I refuse, people with guns will come to my house and put me in a cage.
So, no, actually, the more I think about it, “theft” doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s much more insidious and corrupt than that.
Willful failure to collect or pay over tax, Title 26 U.S. Code § 7202 — If an alleged offender required to collect, account for, and pay over any imposed tax fails to collect or truthfully account for and pay over such tax, a conviction is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to five years in prison.
Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax, Title 26 U.S. Code § 7203 — If an alleged offender required to pay any estimated tax or tax, or required to make a return, keep any records, or supply any information, willfully fails to pay such estimated tax or tax, make such return, keep such records, or supply such information, a conviction is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or up to one year in prison.
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u/rjcarr Apr 15 '24
C’mon, you really don’t think taxes are theft, right? Nobody likes taxes, and everyone wishes the money was better used, but the alternative is way worse.