Not to mention, the Conservatives who base their whole existence on hating taxes and loving the bible conveniently forget what Jesus was EXPLICITLY pro-tax when he was directly asked about it: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.”
To be fair, literally saying "Give Caesar what belongs to him, and also give my invisible friend that only I can see what belongs to him" doesn't sound trustworthy.
Not a biblical scholar or a Christian but my understanding of the meaning is he’s saying don’t sweat worldly stuff like money and devote yourself to god instead. He’s saying it to a group of Jewish people in a temple I think so that tracks.
My issue anymore is not with paying taxes, it's how disproportionately they are applied across income brackets. In IL, we have some of the highest property taxes in the States, yet our schools are still needing to cut back on music and art programs I grew up experiencing because they don't have enough funding and test scores didn't care if you can play the cello. The roads and their platforms of potholes are a minefield, public places are rusting and falling apart, and we're being told that there's just no money and that austerity is the only way to make anything work, now.
No, austerity is not the only way if the rich paid their taxes. Righting this ship, this far after Reagan gutted most social safety nets and hamstrung a lot of programs aimed at helping anyone but the rich, is going to be extremely difficult until the geriatric boomers, who refuse to leave positions of power, left or are removed. Until (and if it's even possible now) we get back to that level of taxation of wealth, we will never have the life they tell us we get to live nor the world we want to raise a family in.
Everyone has a duty to contribute toward society according to their ability
This captures the essence of progressive taxation while allowing two additional obligations:
- Even if you don't incur taxes, there is some way you can and should contribute
- Not paying taxes may be a duty in particular times and places
I mean, yes, that's the case in most countries.
Not really an opinion.
We also have a civic duty to vote, thereby ensuring that our taxes are spent in accordance with our believes and values.
I’m not against taxes at all, I’m glad it helps with my local schools, the roads, the library etc. One tax that kinda bugs me though is my property tax going up because the value of my property went up, I still get it, but it’s annoying when I have a pretty set budget and then out of nowhere my property is reassessed and now my monthly bill is higher.
I don't mind paying taxes, it's the price for the government to work.
Well, it'd be great if the government actually did it's fucking job and if the people with money didn't spend extra to make govt work for them and against the poor.
We need to pay the billionaires so they don’t eat our babies. Its simple. Pay the doge or get your baby eaten.
People find the threat of economic and legal sanctions to be pretty compelling motivators. Take those away and see how many pay their taxes.
Depends on how injust the government is. I'm at the point I want my government to collapse; it's irreparable at this point.
this probably isn't that unpopular
I don't want to pay money if I don't know what I'm paying for. I would rather pay no taxes but get a monthly bill for... Road maintenance in front of my house, for ex. It's taxes, but I actually know what I'm giving out money for.
Oh right, I need to do my taxes... God damn it.
A year ago this was probably pretty popular. Now I'm not so sure
