I have been following the postings on tax policy of my of fellow TFL blogger Robert Cappozzi. Here are my views on taxes (i.e.- taking earned money from people by force to spend on things to which they never agreed.)

The best system would be no state at all, and so no taxes at all. Failing that, tax policy is too much of a temptation for any ruling hierarchy (elected, unelected, Republican, Communist, nobility, or whatever form) to keep from exploiting for their own benefit and to gain and maintain their rule. After 3000 years or so of history to look over this seems to be an established historical fact. I see no serious evidence that this aspect of human behavior will ever change.

To what extent and in what ways does redistribution compromise individual freedom and build the power of the state? It is in the transfer of power from people to government that the real problem with income management rests. Just as Randolph noted that "War is the health of the state", Ali Massoud says that " (and) taxes are it's lifeblood". Limited tax has to mean limited government. After all, who is gonna be a bureaucrat, cop, or soldier if they aren't paid?

So, until we find ourselves in a stateless society, the only form of tax allowed should be user fees (i.e.- gasoline taxes or highway tolls to pay for roads), or a flat percentage land or income tax with an iron clad (as possible) ban on deductions or exceptions. Anything else is only an exercise in futility. That is how I see. One guy's opinion.

- Ali Massoud