Is Taxation is Theft? Essay -- essays research papers

Taxation, the government acquisition of stead from the individual has mixed support in any Western antiauthoritarian system. To make its way into the good will of the majority, taxation has surrounded itself with doctrines of justification. No law which lacks public approval or acquiescence is enforceable, and to gain much(prenominal) support it must address itself to our sense of correctness. This is wear outicularly necessary for statutes authorizing the taking of private property. Sometimes depicted as theft by those who be subject to taxation, the accusation is commonly based on the sentiment what do I get from it? However, one chooses to live in a republican welf ar state and to take up the services nightclub has to erect the individual the argument of free-will is combated here by the necessities of the individual. Often misunderstood by the tax-paying individual, taxation is not solely a legal obligation, but a favorable obligation as well one has a handicraft to protect the weaker members of society in any welfare state.Taxation is confirm through constitutional law and social convention, and so any rejection of taxations genuineness is a direct condemnation of the legitimacy of the law, the legitimacy of the State, and the appropriateness of this social convention. Any claim that denies the legitimacy of such responsibilities and powers is a claim in favour of anarchy. Thus, the claim taxation is theft has the illative meaning that government is illegitimate. Theft is modelually reliant on social convention and legal definition, and so without government or social obligation, the concept of theft is void.Governmental power is entrusted in the State by the flock it represents, and government policy in any democratic state is mean to represent public interests . As taxation is within government policy, and such policies represent the will of the people, taxation is therefore, the will of the people. Theft, lexically defined as taking property without permission or legal right , is an defective classification for taxation, as taxation is legitimized through constitutional law.Taxes are part of a social require, an prevailment between voters and government to exchange funds for the governments goods and services. Even libertarians agree that breach of contract legitimates a police response. So the real question is not whether a crime should be met with pungent i... ... tide over the rough times, and this establishes a smooth-running economy that benefits us all. one has a moral and social obligation to ensure the weakest members in society are protected, and taxation is one way of regulating this social contract.Taxes are part of an agreement that voters make with government, a contract in which citizens agree to exchange their money for the governments goods and services. To consume these goods and services without paying for them is itself theft, and is rightly punish as breach of contract. Some may objec t that they have not agreed to the contract, but if so, then they must not consume the governments goods and services. Furthermore, contract by majority rule is better than by minority rule, one-person(prenominal) rule or anarchy (which results in kill-or-be-killed). Opponents of taxation under nation are therefore challenged to find an improvement on democracy.REFERENCESHeywood, A. Political system An Introduction, Third Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2004.Mill, J.S. On Liberty, Penguin, London, 1859 1974.Pearsall, J. (ed.), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, iFinger online editon. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998.