Someone stole my wallet on the train. It was theft.

Someone took my money because I own a home. It was theft.

Someone took my money because I bought something. It was theft.

Someone took my money because I eeked-out an income. It was theft.

In all cases it was my money, and these people took it by coercion.  All of it was theft.

The New Haven Register’s opinion page is filled with discussions on property taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes. Then the discussion jumps to fairness versus unfairness, equality versus inequality, progressive versus flat, and the need for tax shifts.

But no matter where your preference lies, taking money from someone else against their will is an act of coercion. It is theft. So the discussions are really about bad theft versus less bad theft. And I suggest that this discussion is not complete unless there is also a focus on the massive amount of “tax theft” that currently occurs, and the need to reduce the overall total.

Nils Dailey

Guilford