Taxation Is Theft

Taxation is theft is a catchphrase, as well as a radical right-wing idea that derived from the anarcho-capitalist culture.

The catchphrase is often used ironically in memes to mock members of Ancap or other like-minded individuals.

The idea behind the equity of taxation and theft sprouted out in 1982, when author and economist Murray Rothbard published his book which contemplated the idea.

In his book, Rothbard drew up a parallel between thieves and tax collectors, while questioning the legitimation of the authority of the state in the matter.

The memes created in the topic were mostly created to mock libertarians, so it’s no surprise that one of the earliest taxation is theft meme tracks back to the Reddit thread /r/Libertarian.

In 2016, more and more memes of this kind started to appear online. The pushing demand eventually lead to the creation of thematic Facebook and Tumblr pages, dedicated solely to taxation is theft memes.

• Libertarianism.org – Is Taxation Theft?
• Wikipedia.org – Taxation as theft