Re: Why do people think income tax is ok?

...it's not stealing if you willingly give up something.

For the umpteenth time, I do not willingly pay tax. I pay tax because I don't want to:

a) Go to prison;
b) Leave my friends and family;
c) Live off the work of others.

You can call those 'choices' if you want - same way as if you were mugged at knifepoint in the street, you might 'choose' to give up your wallet to avoid being stabbed. Doesn't make it voluntary, does it?

I think this post is pretty right. There are situations which, strictly speaking, are voluntary. Yet practically, they are not. A 'choice' between jail/death and a wallet isn't much of a choice IMHO' that's coercion.

If you go to park your car and to be able to legally park there you have to pay for a ticket... have you been forced to pay that money? Has the owner of the parking space robbed you? I'd say that's your choice to park there, or you could find a free place to park.

Of course someone that owns a parking lot should be free to charge whatever he wants for access to his property and anyone who is not willing to pay his asking price should be free to park elsewhere and should not be forced to pay. If the person looking for a place to park chooses to pay, then he has not been robbed. They have both entered an agreement voluntarily.

But that isn't what is being discussed in this thread. A more relevant question would be: Should a thug with a badge be able to go to the owner of the parking lot and put a gun to his head and demand that he hand over half of the parking fee income that he earns?