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Of course not. You still own whatever you own, and can still sell it, destroy it, modify it, whatever. You do pay tax on owning it, in a system that taxes wea
by Frondo 9y ago
Of course not. You still own whatever you own, and can still sell it, destroy it, modify it, whatever.
You do pay tax on owning it, in a system that taxes wealth, but that does not mean someone else owns it.
Calling it rent and calling the state the true owner doesn't really make sense--you're conflating two separate ideas, I think, to play on people's emotions ("oh noes, the state owns everything!"). It's not true or accurate, though.
- microcolonel 9y ago> You still own whatever you own Not if you don't pay the rent. > and can still sell it, destroy it, modify it, whatever And when you sell it, you're basically selling a rental agreement. > Calling it rent and calling the state the true owner doesn't really make sense--you're conflating two separate ideas, I think, to play on people's emotions ("oh noes, the state owns everything!"). It's not true or accurate, though. Call it whatever you want, I want to actually own my property, instead of having to pay for it on an ongoing basis on threat of deprivation. At the end of the day, the state is the owner, because they are the only ones who don't have to pay to keep it. We can chase our tails all day and nitpick about definitions, but in the purest sense, the government owns almost everything in Norway, if people stop paying the rent/tax/fee.
- Xylakant 9y agoIf your definition of ownership is that the state can take things from you because it has the monopoly on power there’s a very sad message I have for you: It’s basically everywhere like that. Try not paying the taxes due on land and housing property in the US and see what happens.
- microcolonel 9y agoThat may be the case for most or all land in the U.S., but it at least doesn't apply to musical instruments, couches, computers, and cars (except in some jurisdictions). If the best I can do is pay the wealth tax only on real property, then that's what I would prefer.
- Xylakant 9y agoThe IRS will happily impound your valueable instruments if you fail to pay taxes. Looks like the government still owns everything you call your own.
- microcolonel 9y agoSure, but owning a cello doesn't increase my real property taxes.
- Frondo 9y agoYou do "actually" own your property, even if you have to pay a tax on it. I think you're playing word games, because you're using an idiosyncratic definition of ownership and rent that no one else (except maybe in libertarian circles) uses. I'm not going to play along with those sorts of word games, so I will leave you to your unique definitions.