Leo Karpinski:  I totally disagree, although if any government takes money from my pocket it almost feels like theft.  To understand Taxation better you might want to read William Blackstone's Commentaries, written in the 1700's they formed the basis for many of our taxes today. (I learned about them from first reading Louis L'aMour's westerns as a kid).  Blackstone postulated that:  Every member of a community owes certain obligations to that community just from being a part of that community, and in essence, when unable to meet those obligations by doing the actual work himself, must pay taxes to hire another to meet those obligations.  For example, I suck at math.  Do you really want me teaching your kids on that subject?​  Far better to hire a qualified teacher by paying a tax to do that. The same goes for police and fire protection, which means more tax.  The list goes on and on as we 'all' have a moral and ethical obligation to take care of these affairs (as Blackstone states).