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Being born is rape. I didn't consent to choosing this country or mother or body.
That's my mindset when I hear this. There's a social contract you didn't sign but you're subject to it and given services to be raised into a hopefully healthy citizen. In return, you chip in to make sure those services can be maintained.
Your choice here is that you can one day revoke that citizenship. But sadly you were born to early to find your own sovereign island and declare yourself king so you can avoid taxes. That part is a shame.
But how would it be rape? Rape is non-consensual sex. No one is saying everything involuntary is rape, theft etc.
Im saying taxes are the government taking money from you whether you consent to it or not.
However, tax you owe is not your property in the first place. It's the price of living in the society you benefit from. You can complain the price is too high, or go live somewhere else. But it's not theft.
>It is illegally depriving you of your property
The legality of it is the main distinction but its just coincidental. Theft could be made legal or taxation could be made illegal. If that's the primary distinction then I think it just makes my point.
I dont think what I'm really saying is even that controversial. The basic definition of theft is taking something from someone without their consent. I think the intuition is that I am arguing for no taxes, and that's what sounds so disagreeable, but thats not what I'm saying. The government has a monopoly on violence, theft, etc. Its just how it works. And we're better off with government than without it.
I can go with that.
> The government has a monopoly on violence
Yes, but not unconstrained or arbitrary violence (mostly, in democracies at any rate). Property rights depend on them being enforced. So while the absence of a government might mean you didn't get taxed, good luck holding on to any of your property without laws, courts and police.
> And we're better off with government than without it.
I think we basically agree :)
In fact, many historical nations' main function is seemingly to define and protect property (especially land) of a select few privileged people.
There are places in the world that you can go to where sovereign violence does not reach and you don't have to pay tax, but lacking the organization afforded by a modern government is typically not what many people regard as a happy existence.
People often don't like the outflow of money. They complain about it constantly. "Netflix's prices went up!" "The store wanted me to pay for my groceries and wouldn't just let me walk out with them!" "I smashed my neighbor's car with a bat and now the judge says I have to pay for it." These things are not "literally" theft.
But who is saying they are? I certainly am not. I agree those things arent literally theft. I think the government deciding how much money you owe and getting it with or without your consent basically is theft. The main distinction is that its legal, but that is a coincidental distinction because theft could be made legal as well.