GalaxyFlyer wrote:Perhaps, if governments provided value for money there would not be people trying to avoid paying them as government is seen as a valueless transaction. Free market products exist because both the buyer and seller see themselves as better off after the transaction. If the public goods provided by governments were seen as valuable, taxation would not be seen as something to be avoided.
Yes and no.
One important thing that I think needs to be acknowledged is that pretty much everyone does pay taxes and agrees that it is needed.
Most people takes available deductions etc. and we move on. A few have the ability to hire teams of people to search for every way to reduce ones payment (and the savings are so great it pays for the service plus), and we move on. Then there is a small population that see any payment to the government as affront to themselves or are just criminally inclined and willfully ignore and avoid paying any appropriate level of taxes. This is why there is an enforcement tool that is needed to be applied and reviews and audits done.
Excessive taxation will lead to public defiance at a certain point just as a matter of fact. Because of that any government should be careful and look for that and adjust as needed. Tobacco and alcohol taxes are a simple example, at a certain point the black market (there is always a black market for most anything) grows to a point where it outstrips the "legal markets" and becomes the defacto true market for the item(s). This is what must be avoided for any society to have an effective and functioning government. We see it around the world where markets become detached and governments are not effective and instead are just money grabs for an elite few. Black markets are always a counter balance to the government and need to be there, and the smaller the black market, in general means the government level of taxation and regulation etc. is
Tugg
