The penalty for rejecting the state's assertion of its authority over you (whether legitimate or not) is generally death. At the hands of whatever agency has n

The penalty for rejecting the state's assertion of its authority over you (whether legitimate or not) is generally death. At the hands of whatever agency has noticed your rejection. So if you think you shouldn't have to pay taxes, because the state isn't a legitimate authority, it's quite likely that you'll end up dying. Finally while taxes aren't collected directly by a person with a gun, failure to be sufficiently subservient while dealing with the state can result in your death. It's unfortunate that the state grants itself (in all its forms) much, much more privilege or leeway than any non-state actor would enjoy in a similar dispute. In other words, if you fail to pay a debt to another citizen or non-governmental entity, it's usually handled much, much differently than failing to pay a debt to the government. That double standard definitely doesn't feel right to many folks, and I think that's a very reasonable point to make.