Question

"It seems a gross oversimplification to state, as you have, that 'A libertarian state wouldn't have any taxes at all.' Many libertarians would strongly disagree with this statement. In fact, Robert Nozick, who is considered by many to be the leading libertarian intellectual, specifically distinguishes a libertarian state from a state of anarchy. In a libertarian state, taxes would be levied to pay for internal and external security. In a state of anarchy there is no government. Nozick refers to this as a state of `war' or `all against all.' A major theme of his book Anarchy, State and Utopia is a rejection of anarchy and a construction of a minimal state.

"My questions to you: (1) If you are in favor of abandoning all taxation, how do you distinguish your proposal from the anarchist proposal? (2) Do you think that your proposal -- the elimination of all taxation -- represents the mainstream libertarian point of view?"

 

Answer

"Libertarians generally view taxation as theft and are against it accordingly. The Taxation Plank of the Libertarian Party platform states that members `oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes' and `support the eventual repeal of all taxation.'"

"Some libertarians, however, cannot envision a government that operates without taxes (I suspect that Nozick is in this category). To them, `no taxes' mean 'no government.' However, a government limited to providing defense against aggressors, both domestic and foreign, could indeed operate without taxation. For details, check out my book, Healing Our World, available as a free download at www.ruwart.com.
 

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