Quote:
Originally Posted by Ikeren
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I do, however, agree that some of his examples provide interesting information about peoples general lack of knowledge on the subject of taxation and the lack of clarity in tax statutes, but as a whole, does the argument make sense? No; because the real question is not "Are we legally obligated to pay taxes" but instead is "Are we morally obligated to pay taxes, and how much?"; a different, and much more relevant question. Russo assumes we already all know the answer (no; we are not morally obligated), but the actual debate is still up in the air; especially in other countries (I'm Canadian, and while I recognize much of this material is designed for the US, questions of moral obligation to taxation matter for all democratic nations) where the tangible benefits of taxation is whatever the US has + healthcare (in Canada), to even whatever the US has + healthcare + Post Secondary Education (in the European Union). It's not a question of "are we legally bound to pay taxes" but instead "Are the taxes we pay being spent well?" If the answer is no, there, then it calls for a change in government.
I could, and have, written essays on the subject, but I'll be shorter here for everyone's benefit (including my own).
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This is why your corrupt government taxes you. Because your fucking head is in the sand debating on if it's your "moral" obligation. Stupid canadians.
"Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much of the stories in the Bible could not be true. The consequence was a positive fanatic orgy of free thinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the State through lies. It was a crushing impression. Suspicion against every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude towards the convictions which were alive in any specific social environment - an attitude which never left me, even though later on, because of a better insight into causal connections, it lost some of its orginal poignancy."
-Albert Einstein