Taxes are not a “scam” in as much as they serve the purposes I outlined above. However, knowing that it’s definitely not taxes funding things like healthcare or education, it’s good to examine all taxes with a critical lens:
Should we tax the poorest of workers at all? If one of the main goals of taxation is decreasing inequality, why do we charge income taxes at all to workers earning below the average for example? You could argue that we need to remove money from the economy for macroeconomic purposes such as inflation, but then let’s do it from the richest and not the poorest?
Fun fact: you can tell your libertarian friend that the DPRK (aka North Korea) abolished income taxes in 1974. If they hate taxes so much, they’re free to move there!
I don’t necessarily disagree with your point. Organizing the working class in well-lubricated organizations with the common goals of improving the material conditions in which we live is something I applaud. However, I wouldn’t start tackling taxes first of all. Income taxes maybe, at most, account for 50% of your income. However, surplus value stolen from workers by companies is closer to stealing 80% of your income (depending on a lot of factors). Companies earn a lot more money from our labor than they pay us back, and I would argue for the abolition of this private employer - employee relation altogether. What do you think?
My libertarian friend says this same thing. Taxes are a scam and they just print the money they need.
But is it true ?
Taxes are not a “scam” in as much as they serve the purposes I outlined above. However, knowing that it’s definitely not taxes funding things like healthcare or education, it’s good to examine all taxes with a critical lens:
Should we tax the poorest of workers at all? If one of the main goals of taxation is decreasing inequality, why do we charge income taxes at all to workers earning below the average for example? You could argue that we need to remove money from the economy for macroeconomic purposes such as inflation, but then let’s do it from the richest and not the poorest?
Fun fact: you can tell your libertarian friend that the DPRK (aka North Korea) abolished income taxes in 1974. If they hate taxes so much, they’re free to move there!
Taxes bootstrap the value of the currency, and are a crucial inflation control mechanism.
The accounting connection between tax revenue and funding provided by a national government is entirely specious and imaginary.
OK, so every person should just stop paying them right now. What are they gonna do if we all do it ?
I wish.
I don’t necessarily disagree with your point. Organizing the working class in well-lubricated organizations with the common goals of improving the material conditions in which we live is something I applaud. However, I wouldn’t start tackling taxes first of all. Income taxes maybe, at most, account for 50% of your income. However, surplus value stolen from workers by companies is closer to stealing 80% of your income (depending on a lot of factors). Companies earn a lot more money from our labor than they pay us back, and I would argue for the abolition of this private employer - employee relation altogether. What do you think?
Also, cool username