A government cannot provide its people with justice, human rights and quality of life without money, money that as a society we have chosen to collect through taxes. For better or worse, corporations have chosen (and legally fought for) the right to be treated as persons. That makes them part of the society and obligated to contribute to the society in the same way as every person. When they then dodge paying their fair share of taxes they act unethically and in violation of the needs of society and humanity. This behavior should not be glorified, it should be vilified and punished.
I can definitely fault them for trying to minimize their tax burden. Taxes shouldn't be seen as a burden, they should be seen as an opportunity. A way to contribute to the society that created that opportunity to pay taxes in the first place, since every dollar paid in taxes represents several earned on top of society's foundation.
> A government cannot provide its people with justice, human rights and quality of life
Justice like secret FISA courts and no-due-process restrictions on travel?
Human rights like free speech? Good job Merkle, Ergodan is proud. Due process? Haha. Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures? "Civil asset forfeiture" would like a word.
Quality of life? You mean the thing I get from novel technology, but that is constantly hindered by IP law and overregulation?
> as a society we have chosen to collect through taxes
Huh, I don't remember being privy to that decision... In fact, as best I can tell, most people are compelled to pay taxes by the threat of violence!
>A way to contribute to the society
And a way to contribute to droning of US citizens, and the funding of Israeli weapons programs, and corporate subsidies, and a way to pay for massive surveillance apparatus... Great!
You're right; society created many of the opportunities we have today. The government isn't society.
> Taxes shouldn't be seen as a burden, they should be seen as an opportunity.
What a load of garbage. Taxes are theft at the end of a gun and we have little choice in how they are used. It's downright ignorant to believe that most taxes are used for the betterment of society rather than to line the pockets of select constituencies. Your conflation of "society" with "government" is fictitious.
>Taxes are theft at the end of a gun and we have little choice in how they are used
That's a big reason why democracies became popular (see for example the french revolution, or the boston tea party). A democracy is a system in which the residents of a country (directly or indirectly) decide on matters of government, like which taxes should be collected and how they should be spent.
They are not theft, because a human does not have innate property rights(or any other kinds of rights for that matter). All your rights are provided and guaranteed by the state.
In the western society, people do have rights in fact, even if not granted formally by some government. This is because vast majority of other people respect those rights, without needing government to tell them. For example, most people accept my right to wear red shoes. Nobody really gave me that right; it is obvious. Similarly for the right to private ownership, the right to express myself and the right to move.
State != government. Also try putting brown shirt in Germany on whose shoulder there is red band with white circle. In which circle inside there is black painting in the shape of bent cross ... and we will see exactly what the western government of Germany thinks of your fashion choices and your freedom to express yourself. Hint - your right to move may be somewhat in peril.
By that reasoning, the state does not have an innate right or authority to provide or guarantee human rights.
And really, it's human's that guarantee the state's rights, not the other way around. The state is an abstract concept that exists only because humans gave it that right at some point.
I can definitely fault them for trying to minimize their tax burden. Taxes shouldn't be seen as a burden, they should be seen as an opportunity. A way to contribute to the society that created that opportunity to pay taxes in the first place, since every dollar paid in taxes represents several earned on top of society's foundation.