In the current system, if you don't pay taxes you go to jail. I don't have much of a problem with this, except for the fact that I think jail is a harsh punishment for a non-violent crime. Shouldn't prison be reserved for only violent criminals? Shouldn't we stop jailing tax evaders and find other ways to punish them?
So what if instead of jailing people we, for lack of a better word, governmentally ostracized them? By that I mean they would be barred from using any services provided by the government, local or federal, that they owe money to.
Here is how I think it would work. Let's say Steve decides to not pay his taxes. Like none of them. Federal or state and after being warned by the appropriate authorities and still refusing to pay, the government would publically list him as being a non payer and shut him off from most government services. For example, the government would no longer offer him police protection, nor would he have any court protections or be allowed to use the court system in any capacity. He could still act as a defendant, but he could not bring up a suit against someone else. Obviously any government programs he is on or using would be immediately suspended. He would still be allowed to have freedom of movement, so he could go through customs and use roads, but everything else would be cut off.
What do you guys think? Would this be a workable alternative to jail for tax evaders?
So what if instead of jailing people we, for lack of a better word, governmentally ostracized them? By that I mean they would be barred from using any services provided by the government, local or federal, that they owe money to.
Here is how I think it would work. Let's say Steve decides to not pay his taxes. Like none of them. Federal or state and after being warned by the appropriate authorities and still refusing to pay, the government would publically list him as being a non payer and shut him off from most government services. For example, the government would no longer offer him police protection, nor would he have any court protections or be allowed to use the court system in any capacity. He could still act as a defendant, but he could not bring up a suit against someone else. Obviously any government programs he is on or using would be immediately suspended. He would still be allowed to have freedom of movement, so he could go through customs and use roads, but everything else would be cut off.
What do you guys think? Would this be a workable alternative to jail for tax evaders?