I didn't mean that the government can't raise taxes the way you're assuming I meant. I was describing typical government behavior, where lawmakers have to decid

I didn't mean that the government can't raise taxes the way you're assuming I meant. I was describing typical government behavior, where lawmakers have to decide how to describe the act of collecting more money. Calling it "raising taxes" makes it harder for them to get re-elected, so they call it "collecting a fee" instead.