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Or, in not-libertarian-land, people pay taxes because they enjoy having access to public services such as police, fire departments, working roads, water, etc.

• metaphorm 9y ago
  the two positions aren't even a little contradictory. people pay taxes BOTH because they want to comply with the law (avoid prosecution) and because they value public services (some of them anyway). similarly, there is nuance in each position. self-preservation motivates avoidance of prosecution, but it doesn't prevent individuals and companies from seeking the most effective legal means to avoid taxes, which sometimes is in a grey area w.r.t law and ethics. as well we should consider that while some public services are considered good and desirable, many of them aren't, and which is good and which is not is a judgment that varies heavily between individuals. this isn't libertarian-land "taxes are theft" stuff. this is the basic social contract that everyone, libertarians and their opponents, all abide by.
• saghm 9y ago
  Oh, don't get me wrong, I certainly feel a strong sense of civic duty to pay taxes, and I completely understand the benefit that comes from them. But from conversations with other people, I get the feeling that a large number of people would not pay taxes if they knew they could get away with this. Of course, now that I verbalize this, I'm realizing this could just be a sampling bias, as people who aren't upset about paying taxes are probably less likely to start a conversation about them.