Taxation as slavery

Short description: Libertarian criticism of taxes

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Egyptian peasants seized for non-payment of taxes during the Pyramid Age

Not to be confused with Corvée.

Taxation as slavery is a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist rhetorical argument that equates compulsory taxation with a form of involuntary servitude or slavery. Proponents claim that because individuals are legally required to surrender a portion of their income or labor to the government under threat of penalty, they are effectively forced to work for the benefit of the state or others rather than solely for themselves. The analogy is most commonly associated with right-libertarian thinkers, including some anarcho-capitalists, and has historical roots in opposition to taxation without representation, such as during the American Revolution. Critics argue that the comparison is misleading, as modern taxation occurs within democratic systems, funds public goods, and does not involve ownership of persons or physical coercion comparable to chattel slavery. The concept is considered a fringe viewpoint in mainstream political and economic discourse.[1][2]

## History

Historically, the earliest and most widespread form of taxation was the corvee, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization. The corvee was state-imposed forced labor on peasants too poor to pay other forms of taxation (labor in ancient Egyptian is a synonym for taxes).[3]

While slavery was a part of life in ancient Egypt, the Mediterranean, Rome, and Greece etc, many slaves received wages. For example, in some of the first records of taxation and slavery from over 5000 years, we see evidence that Egyptian Pharaohs only collected 20% tax on grain harvests,[4] and yet the subjects were considered slaves at this high level of taxation, as is recorded in the book of Genesis 41:34-36

“  | "Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food."[5] | ”

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In her book, American Patriots, journalist Gail Buckley wrote, "In British eyes, the American colonies existed only for the benefit of the mother country, but Americans saw any form of taxation as slavery."[6] Anarcho-capitalists and other right-libertarians often argue taxation is equivalent to slavery. The International Society for Individual Liberty has made this claim,[7] as has Bureaucrash,[8] referring to Social Security as "social slavery."[9]

George Mason University professor Thomas Rustici uses two hypothetical anecdotes to illustrate his point of view:

“  | In the first, Sam Slime mugs a person for £50. In the second, Sam Slime votes for a politician who taxes a person in order to redistribute £50 to the "disadvantaged" Slime. Both examples involve the use of force. However, the second scenario is arguably worse, since through the state, Slime is now empowered to repeatedly take others' money, thus putting them in a condition of slavery."[10] | ”

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Leo Tolstoy argued that taxation of labor is one of three stages of slavery (the other two being land slavery and personal slavery).[11]

## See also

* Chibalo
* George Fitzhugh
* Income tax
* Political ethics
* Redeemers
* The Road to Serfdom
* Self-ownership
* Serfdom
* Taxation as theft
* Tax noncompliance
* Tax protester history
* Voluntary taxation

## References

1. ↑ Huemer, Michael. "Is Taxation Theft?". https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/is-taxation-theft.
2. ↑ McGee, Robert W.; Block, Walter E. (2022), "Taxation: The Libertarian View", Political Philosophy and Taxation (Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore): pp. 251–279, ISBN 978-981-19-1091-3, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1092-0_7, retrieved 2025-11-11
3. ↑ David F. Burg (2004). A World History of Tax Rebellions. Taylor & Francis. pp. vi–viii. ISBN 9780203500897. https://books.google.com/books?id=T91k6HAODzAC&pg=PP1.
4. ↑ History of Taxes. Tax Foundation.org. 19 March 2024. https://taxfoundation.org/taxedu/educational-resources/primer-history-of-taxes.
5. ↑ Book of Genesis 41:34-36. Holy Bible. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis 41:34-36&version=NIV.
6. ↑ Buckley, Gail (May 14, 2002). American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military From the Revolution to Desert Storm. Random House. p. 3. https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/buckley-01patriots.html.
7. ↑ "ISIL -- End Tax Slavery Now". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509170504/http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/end-tax-slavery.html. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
8. ↑ "Tax Slavery Sucks | Bureaucrash". http://www.bureaucrash.com/Tax-Slavery-Sucks.
9. ↑ "Social Slavery | Bureaucrash". Archived from the original on 2008-06-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20080629084407/http://bureaucrash.com/Social-Slavery. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
10. ↑ Dr. Thomas Carl Rustici. "George Mason University Economics and Public Policy Problems Economics 309". https://mason.gmu.edu/~trustici/ECON309/Economics 309.pdf.
11. ↑ "Leo Tolstoy / On the Land Question and Slavery -- 1909". Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20140305214327/http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/tolstoy-leo_on-the-land-question-and-slavery-1909.html. Retrieved 2013-09-30.

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Anarcho-capitalism

Origins|

* Age of Enlightenment
* Aristotelianism
* Austrian School
* Marginalism
* School of Salamanca
* Subjective theory of value
* Classical liberalism
* French Liberal School
* Homestead principle
* Labor theory of property
* Physiocracy
* Individualist anarchism

Concepts|

* Anti-statism
* Civil rights
* Counter-economics
* Decentralization
* Deregulation
* Economic liberalism
* Free market
* Free-market anarchism
* Free-market roads
* Free society
* Free trade
* Freedom of contract
* Individualism
* Jurisdictional arbitrage
* Laissez-faire
* Land ownership
* Natural Law
* Non-aggression principle
* Polycentric law
* Private defense agency
* Private governance
* Private military company
* Private police
* Private property
* Privatization
* Propertarianism
* Property rights
* Right to own property
* Self-ownership
* Spontaneous order
* Title-transfer theory of contract
* Voluntaryism

People|

* Bruce L. Benson
* Walter Block
* Bryan Caplan
* Gerard Casey
* Anthony de Jasay
* David D. Friedman
* Hans-Hermann Hoppe
* Michael Huemer
* Stephan Kinsella
* Michael Malice
* Robert P. Murphy
* Wendy McElroy
* Lew Rockwell
* Murray Rothbard
* Joseph Salerno
* Thomas Woods

Works|

* Defending the Undefendable
* Democracy: The God That Failed
* The Ethics of Liberty
* For a New Liberty
* The Machinery of Freedom
* The Market for Liberty
* The Problem of Political Authority
* To Serve and Protect
* The Voluntary City

Issues|

* Abortion
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* Capital punishment
* Criticism
* Foreign affairs
* Immigration
* Inheritance
* Intellectual property
* Internal debates
* LGBT rights
* Minarchism
* Objectivism
* Political parties
* Politics
* Theories of law

Related topics|

* Agorism
* Right-libertarianism
* Libertarianism in the United States
* Left-libertarianism

* Category

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Tax resistance

Topics|

* Conscientious objection to military taxation
* List of historical acts of tax resistance
* Tax resistance in the United States
* List of tax resisters

Methods|

* Barter
* Gift economy
* Local currency
* Rebellion
* Self-sufficiency
* Simple living
* Tax avoidance
* Tax evasion
* Unreported employment

Organizations|

* Addiopizzo
* Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera
* All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation
* Anti-Poll Tax Unions
* Association of Real Estate Taxpayers
* Catalunya Diu Prou
* Committee for Non-Violent Action
* Δεν Πληρώνω
* Fasci Siciliani
* Irish National Land League
* National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund
* National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
* Northern California War Tax Resistance
* Pagal Panthis
* Peace churches
* Peacemakers
* Planka.nu
* Women's Tax Resistance League
* Zuism

Media|

* An Act of Conscience
* Civil Disobedience
* Clericis laicos
* The Cold War and the Income Tax: A Protest
* Vyborg Manifesto

Campaigns|

| 1300s|

* Tuchin Revolt
* Harelle
* Peasants' Revolt

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1400s|

* Cornish Rebellion of 1497

1500s|

* Croquant rebellions
* Rappenkrieg
* Revolt of the Pitauds

1600s|

* Angelets
* Revolt of the papier timbré
* Revolt of the va-nu-pieds
* Salt Tax Revolt in Spain
* Salt Riot in Moscow

1700s|

* Boston Tea Party
* Fries's Rebellion
* Gaspee Affair
* No taxation without representation
* Philadelphia Tea Party
* Revolt of the Comuneros (New Granada)
* War of the Regulation
* Whiskey Rebellion
* White Lotus Rebellion

1800s|

* 1810 House Tax Hartal
* Dog Tax War
* Hut Tax War of 1898
* Mejba Revolt
* Rebecca Riots
* Saminism Movement
* Tancament de Caixes
* Tithe War
* Wallachian uprising

1900s|

* Agbekoya
* Bambatha Rebellion
* Bardoli Satyagraha
* Beit Sahour
* Bondelswarts affair
* Champaran Satyagraha
* Kheda Satyagraha
* Johnson cult
* Mau movement
* Poll Tax Riots
* Poplar Rates Rebellion
* Turra Coo
* Salt March
* Vedaranyam March
* Women's War

2000s|

* Anti-austerity movement in Greece
* Anti-Bin Tax Campaign
* Bonnets Rouges
* Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes
* Gilets jaunes protests
* Movimento Passe Livre

Related topics|

* Income tax threshold
* Render unto Caesar
* Tax inversion
* Tax noncompliance
* Tax protester
* Tax riot
* Taxation as slavery
* Taxation as theft

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