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Sure, it pays for services around me but it's taken against my will. If I stop paying taxes I will end up in jail like Peter Schiff's dad. I could move to Duba

Sure, it pays for services around me but it's taken against my will. If I stop paying taxes I will end up in jail like Peter Schiff's dad. I could move to Dubai or locations which don't charge taxes, but it's not a tradeoff I'm happy to do. Incidentally, I'm about to buy a property in a country with lower taxes than my current one and invest in their economy instead. The reason I want more money is so I can stop selling my time in order to put food on the table and a roof over my family's heads and start building things I want to build which I doubt they will be profitable.

bloodorange 6y ago
Please forgive me if I misunderstand but you are unwilling to let go of the kind of system/society you are in: "it's not a tradeoff I'm happy to do." However, that very society/system has made a tradeoff that they will maintain a certain level of taxation which would allow them to maintain a certain level of services. This does not seem realistic.
- jokethrowaway 6y ago
  No worries at all, I appreciate the conversation! I think I expressed myself unclearly, the tradeoff I'm unwilling to make is not because I miss services paid with taxes but because there are many dimensions to evaluate a country. From my point of view, I already pay a private health insurance on top of my public one because the public one is just unreliable - and that's the main benefit my taxes afford me. Someone who can't afford it, will probably grade countries differently. And there are so many factors to consider: culture, english speaking schools availability, weather, detached houses availability, real estate prices, if your spouse likes the country, anything that could be important for you. I lived in Dubai and I'm not a fan of how they deal with personal freedom (eg. LGBT rights, alcohol / drug consumption, sex outside of marriage) even if I like how they deal with economic freedom. Also racism towards American / European expats from natives is pretty vicious (albeit not as bad as towards expats from poorer countries). Some people are indeed happy to live in Dubai - personally I found that there are several countries which offer a better tradeoff for me, low taxes and a good quality of life (whatever your definition is).

bloodorange 6y ago

Please forgive me if I misunderstand but you are unwilling to let go of the kind of system/society you are in: "it's not a tradeoff I'm happy to do." However, that very society/system has made a tradeoff that they will maintain a certain level of taxation which would allow them to maintain a certain level of services. This does not seem realistic.

jokethrowaway 6y ago
No worries at all, I appreciate the conversation! I think I expressed myself unclearly, the tradeoff I'm unwilling to make is not because I miss services paid with taxes but because there are many dimensions to evaluate a country. From my point of view, I already pay a private health insurance on top of my public one because the public one is just unreliable - and that's the main benefit my taxes afford me. Someone who can't afford it, will probably grade countries differently. And there are so many factors to consider: culture, english speaking schools availability, weather, detached houses availability, real estate prices, if your spouse likes the country, anything that could be important for you. I lived in Dubai and I'm not a fan of how they deal with personal freedom (eg. LGBT rights, alcohol / drug consumption, sex outside of marriage) even if I like how they deal with economic freedom. Also racism towards American / European expats from natives is pretty vicious (albeit not as bad as towards expats from poorer countries). Some people are indeed happy to live in Dubai - personally I found that there are several countries which offer a better tradeoff for me, low taxes and a good quality of life (whatever your definition is).