On the record
All taxes, levied upon a man's property for the support of government, without his consent, are mere robbery; a violation of his natural right of property.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “All taxes, levied upon a man's property for the support of government, without his consent, are mere robbery; a…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner argues that taxation without consent is a violation of property rights.
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More from Lysander Spooner
Practically speaking, no government knows any limits to its power, except the endurance of the people.
Juries would refuse to enforce a tax against a man who had never agreed to pay it.
In that case the trial is really a trial by the government, and not by the jury.
Yet the codes of the most celebrated kings are very small, and were little more than compilations of immemorial customs.