Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax, or to government policy, or as opposition to taxation in itself. Tax resistance is a form of direct action and, if in violation of the tax regulations, also a form of civil disobedience.
Gandhi picking up salt and disobeying the British salt production and tax laws
Egyptian peasants seized for non-payment of taxes during the Pyramid Age
The Boston Tea Party, 16 December 1773
Henry David Thoreau, author of Civil Disobedience
The position that taxation is theft, and therefore immoral, is found in a number of political philosophies. Its popularization marks a significant departure from conservatism and classical liberalism, and has been considered radical by many as a result. The position is often held by anarcho-capitalists, objectivists, most minarchists, right-wing libertarians, and voluntaryists, as well as left-anarchists, libertarian socialists and some anarcho-communists.
Loot and Extortion. Statues at Trago Mills (near Liskeard, Cornwall), dedicated to the UK Inland Revenue Service