This question always seems to piss people off as they don't like to think about being stolen from. People can suffer from cognitive dissonance in regards to tax but lets break it down a bit and see if we can actually ascertain whether taxation is theft.
First, lets look at the definition of stealing:
Steal:
to take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.
"thieves stole her bicycle"
Now let's look at what taxation is:
Tax
a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits, or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.
The key word here is 'compulsory'.
Do you have a choice to pay your tax? No. What happens if you refuse to pay tax? You will be fined and eventually jailed. If you resist arrest and the violation of your natural right to liberty, you may even be killed.
So if theft is taking something with the threat of force, this is coercion and coercion is immoral. I think when it is broken down like this then it is easy to see that taxation by any other name is theft.
So why does this matter? Shouldn't we contribute to society? Well yes, of course, but in a voluntary manner. Wouldn't you rather choose where your money goes and give to charity to help the poor rather than be forced to pay for shit you don't need?
To equate the 'social contract' argument, it's like me delivering a cheese sandwich to your door every week and charging you £500 for it. You got something that you can use didn't you? So what is the problem?
Anyone that believes taxation is moral is simply under mind control.
Would you choose to pay for what you want if you could? Can anyone give me an example of something the government provides that cannot be organised through voluntary co-operation?
Let me know below.