I preface this article by saying that im not a complete libertarian and I do think that some taxes do have their uses. That being said, most of our tax dollars are misspent in ways that we couldn’t even believe and the people spending them carelessly do so because they have no repercussions. I don’t think there is a perfect way to address the tax situation, but there are definitely better approaches than other ones. Anyway onto why I believe that Property Tax and Capital Gains tax are a scam.
When we walk into a store and say, purchase a hammer, we are usually taxes a set amount, which goes to the government to be used how they see fit. From now on, our tax burden as a citizen has been paid. We can use the hammer for the rest of our lives, or until it breaks, and never have to worry again about owing anything else on it. Property tax and Capital Gains tax are completely opposite to this idea.
Say we buy a property with our own money in full. For the rest of our lives, we need to pay for the right to own land we already own. If you don’t pay property tax on property you already paid for, the government can seize it from you. Yes that’s right, the government can seize something YOU ALREADY OWN and paid taxes on in the first place. Despite you working your entire life to pay off a house, you now need to budget ever increasing property taxes into the equation. The entire system is a scam.
Granted some places in the United States don’t have property tax, but the vast majority do as a way for local governments to fund various projects that we might or might not want or agree with. Capital gains is the same idea. We have purchased something (stock, commodity, collectible, ect) that we already own and has gone up in value and if we decide to sell it, the government has a right to take a cut. Why? Because the trade is happening on their land? It is absolutely ridiculous. Not only does capital gains broken up into state capital gains, but federal capital gains as well.
When most people criticize my stance on the matter, they often will say something along the lines of “well if you don’t pay those taxes, then we cant pay for schools or other utilities.”, which I agree with now because that is how the system is setup , but that could be changed. Instead of shifting the burden on people who have already purchased a good , why not raise the tax rate on luxury goods so the tax burden is shifted to people who are constantly buying. But in our consumerist society, we want people to buy all the shit they don’t need and then punish those who have been smart with their money. It is a joke.
I don’t expect the system to change, after all the government isn’t in the business of lowering taxes. However maybe youll think twice next time and gain a different perspective when you realize how many times we are being taxed in ways that are compete scams. As for me, I think I might look into some places that don’t have property tax.