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Governments mainly value people as taxpayers, because taxpayers pay into the public coffers, which can then be emptied to ameliorate social disputes and ease re
by jackcosgrove 9y ago
Governments mainly value people as taxpayers, because taxpayers pay into the public coffers, which can then be emptied to ameliorate social disputes and ease reelection. If you don't pay taxes and do consume services at the same time, as a squatter does, you're making your leaders' lives harder and they will find a way to get rid of you.
- mschuster91 9y agoA squatter pays his/her share of taxes: VAT on everything he/she buys, income tax on any kind of employment or other income sources. The only tax that a squatter does not pay in contrast to an owner or renter (indirect there) is "ground tax", which is a negligible amount anyway.
- jackcosgrove 9y agoThere is also the opportunity cost of the owner not living in the domicile and not paying those same taxes, at probably higher amounts than the squatter. The owner is probably wealthier than the squatter and thus will pay more taxes.
- mschuster91 9y agoSquats usually end up in houses where no one cared in any way for years and some times, like the recent short-term squat in Munich, for decades. And the only interest which the "owners", mostly in form of offshore companies, have is to make huge amounts of money at the cost of the city, so I don't have a single tear left for them.