Nohweh

I have always been content to pay my taxes. If I didn't, I wouldn't feel justified in getting all steamed up over how much money is wasted by politicians.

But then, if nobody paid taxes, the bastards wouldn't get paid at all and they couldn't waste public money. Maybe I need to rethink my position.

Ab_Normal

That's the definition with which I'm familiar; I was wondering if meritocrat was using it in an idiosyncratic fashion.

meritocrat

Yes a regressive tax is one not based on income!

The state is the institutions of government!! Why should they tax me??????

mecca777

Because the government does not exist in a vacuum.

The purpose of the institution of government is to protect its citizens. At your most basic, "meritocratic-libertarian" level, they will protect you from crime, invasion and burning to death. At the slightly more civilised level found in most Western countries, they also try to protect you from poverty, ill health, unemployable ignorance, accidental injury through the negligence of third parties and so on. The exact balance and emphasis of each protection will vary according to the political makeup of a government.

All of these protections are intended to ensure that each individual has a theoretical ability to contribute to society to the maximum extent that they are able, without having to worry about immediate survival to the exclusion of anything else. If a government cannot choose which individuals to protect, having a duty to all of its citizens, it follows that individuals cannot "opt out" of the state's protection.

Therefore, meritocrat pays tax.

meritocrat

I pay tax simply because the government steals my money!!!

As I said, the state should be LIMITED to courts, police, armed forces, roads and regulating free markets!

In the UK, this would only equate to under 1-10% of GDP!!!

To fund such a state we wouldn't need income tax!! Only a few regressive taxes and user fees!!!!!!

Gurdur

But does it matter ?
No.

Or if you prefer,
NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay ?

meritocrat

You're no libertarian.

You simply use the term as a bussword to sound trendy!!!!!!

orac

Free markets being controlled by the government?

That's quite an, um, interesting idea there. Next you'll be suggesting a tax placed on the labour market in order to help fund the management of the free and unregulated markets.

Or perhaps "free" and "regulated" are synonyms and I missed that memo.

meritocrat

Free markets are REGULATED in capitalist countries to DETERMINE EQUITABLE market shares!!!

Rhaedas

Sounds like a simple case of wanting something for nothing.

AS I told my 8 year old, taxes is the income of the gov't, so that they can exist to serve the public. Who pays for their income if the public, the users of the gov't, don't?

You can argue about how much tax, or where that tax comes from, but to say no taxes at all is ludicrious. I realize you say regressive taxes are okay, but you don't state where that would come from, or why taxing the poor to death vs. the people who actually have money makes sense.