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Comment by peterb | Hacker News Reader

Most people/companies are discrete about tax avoidance. Personally I like paying taxes, it buys civilization.

If you consider that most of the money collected in taxes is paying for shady military operations in the middle east, I'd say taxes destroy civilization.

20% of federal expenditures are for defense. The oft-sited 50% is discretionary budget, which doesn't include things such as social security, welfare, etc.

Not to nitpick, but:

- 20% is still the biggest single item in the budget.

- Many military-related expenses are not being paid for at present and will need to be paid for with future taxes.

Financing a government usually isn't a start-ups primary concern. "Civilization" is bought by innovation and entrepreneurship, not politicians and taxes.

Nonsense. The basis of "civilization" is the just rule of law, and protection from external threats. Which are paid for by your taxes. Without these things, it would be impossible to create technology startups.

This. IMHO anyone who doesn't like the taxes that maintain their surroundings, has an ethical obligation to relocate rather than avoid paying. Hell, tax money hired the guys who created the Internet.

Most folks who complain about taxes aren't objecting to the very existence of taxes, merely the fact that they're excessive, largely spent on things that they shouldn't be, and disproportionately lumped upon a small sector of the population. Few would complain about, say, a flat 10% tax rate to support basic infrastructure, courts, police, et cetera.

On the other hand, there are folks who genuinely believe that taxes should be zero. They're welcome to move to Somalia.

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