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Welcome to civil non-compliance 2.0: vandalism as a form of protest. So now taxes perceived as unjust warrant the destruction of state property in retaliation.

by Hoasi 8y ago

Welcome to civil non-compliance 2.0: vandalism as a form of protest. So now taxes perceived as unjust warrant the destruction of state property in retaliation. The French government has already stepped back before. But it never seems enough for protesters. It does look like a much bigger movement than the state had anticipated. If enough people stop paying taxes this will get serious.

johnnyfaehell 8y ago
> If enough people stop paying taxes this will get serious. Isn't most of the income tax taken directly from the employer. So only a few people will be able to avoid that. Then there is the lovely VAT tax, how are people going to avoid that one? In fact, I think the majority of taxes are transparent so you know you paid it but you don't really ever feel the pain of handing over the money.
- Hoasi 8y ago
  > Isn't most of the income tax taken directly from the employer. So only a few people will be able to avoid that. Then there is the lovely VAT tax, how are people going to avoid that one? That's right. The French government probably feels lucky. Hence frustrated people resort to destroying things. And taxpayers will pay for the damages anyway. But still, you can see the pressure is real.
coldtea 8y ago
>Welcome to civil non-compliance 2.0: vandalism as a form of protest. So now taxes perceived as unjust warrant the destruction of state property in retaliation. A proud history of civil non-compliance, from the French Revolution, 1848, and the Commune to May 68, is what made France what it is, and helped usher us into the modern freedoms and rights.
- cm2187 8y ago
  I don't think many french are proud of the commune, outside of the far left. Even the 1789 French revolution was a bloodshed that resulted into a even tougher dictatorship (the First Empire)...
  - seszett 8y ago
    Most people might not have an especially good view of the Commune (though it's more widespread than just the far left) but virtually nobody sees the First Empire as "a tough dictatorship". The bloodshed of the revolution and the Empire are seen as necessary evils at worst.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    The left has a sizable percentage of the people's minds in France -- even if they belong in non nominally leftist parties.

by Hoasi 8y ago

johnnyfaehell 8y ago

> If enough people stop paying taxes this will get serious. Isn't most of the income tax taken directly from the employer. So only a few people will be able to avoid that. Then there is the lovely VAT tax, how are people going to avoid that one? In fact, I think the majority of taxes are transparent so you know you paid it but you don't really ever feel the pain of handing over the money.

Hoasi 8y ago
> Isn't most of the income tax taken directly from the employer. So only a few people will be able to avoid that. Then there is the lovely VAT tax, how are people going to avoid that one? That's right. The French government probably feels lucky. Hence frustrated people resort to destroying things. And taxpayers will pay for the damages anyway. But still, you can see the pressure is real.

coldtea 8y ago

>Welcome to civil non-compliance 2.0: vandalism as a form of protest. So now taxes perceived as unjust warrant the destruction of state property in retaliation. A proud history of civil non-compliance, from the French Revolution, 1848, and the Commune to May 68, is what made France what it is, and helped usher us into the modern freedoms and rights.

cm2187 8y ago
I don't think many french are proud of the commune, outside of the far left. Even the 1789 French revolution was a bloodshed that resulted into a even tougher dictatorship (the First Empire)...
- seszett 8y ago
  Most people might not have an especially good view of the Commune (though it's more widespread than just the far left) but virtually nobody sees the First Empire as "a tough dictatorship". The bloodshed of the revolution and the Empire are seen as necessary evils at worst.
- coldtea 8y ago
  The left has a sizable percentage of the people's minds in France -- even if they belong in non nominally leftist parties.