Amnesty for tax cheats a success: Report (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1147005128157&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_World&call_pageid=968332188854&call_pagepath=News/World)
www.thestar.com, May 7 ’06

A federal amnesty program for tax cheats is successfully flushing out mostly rich Canadians who want to settle up

Tax “cheats” is a funny term to use, since nobody signed an agreement that voluntarily commits them to pay taxes. Of course the Star just assumes that taxation is justified, even though it’s coercive. Canada Revenue Agency calls their amnesty program a “voluntary disclosure program” and “voluntary” is exactly what taxation is NOT. A just society would be a society where people exchange or share their wealth voluntarily. And of course the rich tax “cheats” are going to be singled out as they have the most money to steal. Yes, I believe many – not all – of the wealthy have an unfair advantage from our system, and some of them benefit from subsidies and special privileges granted to big business, but they’re not the only ones who “cheat” on their taxes. They’re just the ones who have all the money that Canadians need to support their out-of-control government. Caesar taxed, and King John taxed, and the Canadian government taxes more “successfully” than either of them could ever dream. Somehow it’s seen as morally legitimate.

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