Hello petermgreen... do you live in the USA?

Regarding things like the library and school, there is a very important point: -Someone- has to pay for the library. -Someone- has to pay for schools. So many people reference "free" healthcare or "free" schools... it's not free at all. The question is, does one feel entitled to the product of someone else's life (voluntary vs mandatory taxes).

If providing a service is positive for society, shouldn't it be voluntary? ie, if you think having libraries is positive for society, you can pay a library tax (as would I), even if we don't actually use the library ourselves. If you think a welfare program is positive for society, you can contribute to it through a welfare tax, even if you aren't yourself on welfare.

Another question to be asked is: Positive for society by whose standards?

Wouldn't that question have to be answered by society itself? And if that's the case and nobody wants to pay for something, then is it really what's best for society?

Hello,

The police force / lawmakers is definitely a wrinkle into the "pay for what you use" idea. Take your example of police officers... if we had voluntary taxes for the police force, you would inevitably have many people who wouldn't want to pay for police officers (all while benefiting from them). Is it possible to have a voluntarily funded service (police / military) and have it not collapse?

That is an interesting idea about having the police fund themselves with fines... it definitely could be open to abuse by police officers, but that would actually shed some light on the issue of ambiguous / "gray area" laws.

Regarding your comment on poor people not being able to climb the ladder, do you think it's a requirement that people who live by their own means help people who cannot (either by choice or luck)?

Thanks for the reply, MrZilla.

That is interesting... What is the political climate in Sweden at the moment? ie, is there an outcry of people unhappy with current taxes?

What do /.'ers think of making all taxes a choice? For example:

If you want to drive on the roads, you pay a road tax.
If you want to send your children to public schools, you pay a school tax.
If you want to use a local library, you pay a library tax.

etc. etc. The idea is, the people would pay the government when they wanted a specific service, and the government would use that money to maintain that service. Do you think this structure would promote more self-responsibility? What would be the shortcomings?

Thanks again for anyone's comments!

Just curious... can other /.'ers comment on the "tax days" of other countries besides the USA?

Do you have to file a tax return? By what date? What percentage do you pay to your respective governments during the course of a year? (Bigger question: What are the tax brackets?)

Also, given your own personal tax bracket, do you feel you pay too much, too little, or a fair amount?

Just curious... Thanks everyone!