Tax Time
Like yourself, I made out a large check to the 1RS last month. I don't think anyone enjoys paying taxes; almost everyone carps about them. But, unfortunately, almost nobody protests the principle of taxation, as opposed to taxes being simply "too high." Editorials I read never decry taxes in principle, only in technical detail.
One editorial I recently read in the Wall Street Journal was written by a businessman acting as a consultant in Korea. He was whining about having to fill out a Form 5471 (required for those who control an offshore corporation). This obscure form doesn't itself necessitate payment of more taxes, but by official IRS estimate requires about 160 hours (of expensive professional time) for record keeping, learning what it requires, and preparation. But the businessman wrote "Elimination of the requirement for the information is not the answer. I believe such information is necessary for the IRS..." Recognizing this sheeplike person's psychological orientation, and his active endorsement of the government's "right," puts me in a gloomy frame of mind.
I believe that taxes are purely evil, totally destructive, and entirely unnecessary, to boot.
Taxes are evil for exactly the same reason it's evil for a mugger to take your wallet on the street. They are purely theft, and the fact that we're told that they're for "the good of the country" (even if that were true, which it isn't) isn't a justification - just as the mugger depriving you of your wallet for a good reason is not a justification.
Taxes are destructive because the money taken from you would otherwise raise your standard of living - and that of your associates and society at large when you either spent or invest it. Probably 90% of government spending either dissipates or misallocates wealth; much of it actively promotes indigence and corruption.
Taxes are unnecessary because any of the worthwhile services provided by the state (e.g., schools, roads, postal service, police, courts) could and would be provided by entrepreneurs, cheaper and better, at a profit, if the government was out of the picture.
Paying taxes isn't your patriotic duty. Taxes maintain the government, which is a totally different thing from the country. Government has a life of its own, like General Motors or IBM, with its own interests. But corporations stay in business only by providing goods and services people are willing to pay for voluntarily. And their continued existence increases society's net wealth; government drains wealth. The government's interests not only aren't the same as those of society - they are, perversely, most often antithetical to those of society. The government is a living being, and like any being or organization, its first mandate is to survive and grow. This is why, especially in view of the huge debt it's incurred, I believe taxes and spending will go through the roof by the end of the decade; the parasite will come close to killing its host. After federal, state, local, and Social Security taxes, you retain 60%, at most, of your income. Then you pay sales, real estate, excise, luxury, and a thousand other taxes with the remainder. Taxes are, by far, your largest single expense. And what do you get in return? Mainly harassment, and a web of laws that serve to further reduce your standard of living, and perhaps even deprive you of your life and liberty.
It occurs to me, as a logical and very obvious fact, that the U.S. government (especially) no longer serves any useful purpose. But that's like saying the king has no clothes. Making such a radical statement takes most people aback for a moment-until they think about 'it.
If you want to examine this line of thinking in the detail it deserves (even if you subsequently reject it), I urge you to read The Market,for Liberty, by Morris and Linda Tannehill. It is surely either the first or second most important book I've ever read. I've often recommended it in these pages before. For a softbound edition, send $12.95 to Laissez Faire Books, Dept. CAS, 938 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103 or call 800-326-0990.