The nature of taxation is often overlooked.  It’s just absurd to pretend that taxation adds to the national wealth.  It consumes part of the wealth.  It subtracts from national wealth.  It’s the transfer of part of the nation’s wealth from one group to another.  It’s a burden imposed on the taxed individuals.  It must be understood that taxation devours wealth.  Far from the fairy tale we are told about it leading to growth.

Some will take a tremendous leap in logic to say that taxes are voluntary.  Those who claim this are welcome to stop paying taxes and see what happens.  They’ll realize taxes are coercive.  They are a coercive transfer of wealth.  It’s always wealth.  They don’t collect garbage to pay taxes.  They coercively appropriate valuable assets.  Due to the fact that taxes always consist of value, the taxed subject’s income is thereby reduced. 

Its impossible that the state can create jobs from taxation.  Those valuable assets that were taken away might provide for jobs.  However, these are only what is seen.  The taxed subject now has less income.  His spending must be curtailed.  The jobs that the state supposedly created come at the expense of jobs destroyed.  Plus, the middleman gets paid, and the state is always less efficient.  There is a net reduction in jobs.

It’s been said that “the power to tax is the power to destroy.”  Some may truly believe that taxes are beneficial.  I don’t doubt many don’t see the destructive nature of it.  Willingly or unwillingly.  It’s more than a destruction of current wealth.  It destroys future production.  The people won’t produce if they are aware of what they produce will be taken away.  The living standard of all will be reduced in the long run.

Various cherry-picked, tortured, and unseen data can’t beat logic.  Many times personal beliefs get in the way of clear thinking.  No amount of distorted data can ever overcome logical reasoning.  The justification put forth is one thing.  They can’t deny the logic behind taxation without demonstrating there is a problem with clear thinking.  Taxation is what it is and there’s no way around that.

Reference

Hans-Hermann Hoppe; The Economics and Ethic of Private Property