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There is an important legal distinction between tax and insurance (in Germany). If you pay taxes, the state may do whatever it suits with the money. If they de

by pintxo 8y ago

There is an important legal distinction between tax and insurance (in Germany). If you pay taxes, the state may do whatever it suits with the money. If they decide once day to no longer maintain the public infrastructure using your taxes but instead increase politicians salaries they are free to do this. If you pay an insurance, on the other hand, you have a legally enforceable right to receive the insurance benefits if you meet the pre-defined criteria for an insurance case.

barry-cotter 8y ago
That one payment is legally a tax and another is not has no bearing on whether it is economically a tax, any more than the culinary distinction between fruits and vegetables bears on the botanical one. Botanically a tomatoe is a fruit. In the kitchen it’s a vegetable.
- pintxo 8y ago
  Not sure I can follow you here. What’s your definition of a tax?
  - barry-cotter 8y ago
    I would define it as an involuntary payment, mandated by government. In German law the insurance contribution may not be a tax because payment of it entitles you to certain services. That doesn’t stop it being an involuntary payment, mandated by the government, a tax by common definition. That doesn’t make the legal definition wrong, but it isn’t really relevant outside a legal context just as a chef won't argue with a botanist that actually a tomatoe or a pumpkin is a vegetable not a fruit. Botanically they’re right but who cares? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax A tax (from the Latin taxo) is a mandatory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed upon a taxpayer (an individual or other legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund various public expenditures.[1] A failure to pay, along with evasion of or resistance to taxation, is punishable by law. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labour equivalent.

by pintxo 8y ago

barry-cotter 8y ago

That one payment is legally a tax and another is not has no bearing on whether it is economically a tax, any more than the culinary distinction between fruits and vegetables bears on the botanical one. Botanically a tomatoe is a fruit. In the kitchen it’s a vegetable.

pintxo 8y ago
Not sure I can follow you here. What’s your definition of a tax?
- barry-cotter 8y ago
  I would define it as an involuntary payment, mandated by government. In German law the insurance contribution may not be a tax because payment of it entitles you to certain services. That doesn’t stop it being an involuntary payment, mandated by the government, a tax by common definition. That doesn’t make the legal definition wrong, but it isn’t really relevant outside a legal context just as a chef won't argue with a botanist that actually a tomatoe or a pumpkin is a vegetable not a fruit. Botanically they’re right but who cares? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax A tax (from the Latin taxo) is a mandatory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed upon a taxpayer (an individual or other legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund various public expenditures.[1] A failure to pay, along with evasion of or resistance to taxation, is punishable by law. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labour equivalent.