Like them, love them or tolerate them, taxes rarely ever get repealed once enacted. Does the government go so far in its urge to tax that it could be called stealing?

Curiosity contributor Susan Sherwood took on the taxing task of examining taxation from a number of viewpoints.

"Taxation without representation" was a major grievance the American colonies held against the British government prior to the Revolutionary War. Settlers could neither vote on taxes nor elect representatives to send to England. Taxes were imposed, and colonists felt at the mercy of distant powers. Some Americans continue to feel this way, believing the U.S. government can't legally collect income taxes.

It’s argued that federal fund-raising should finance government powers limited to those specifically enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress may collect money for common defense and the general welfare. Just what constitutes federal responsibilities remains under contention. Is it enough to have a standing army? Does "general welfare" refer only to specific issues such as regulating commerce, or should it be more broadly defined to include such areas as education and health care?

Opponents of taxation are willing to pay for goods and services they personally receive, but say that much of what the federal government does provides no benefit to them. Some taxpayers have specific objections to goals of funding, such as war or social programs: These negatives, to them, make taxation theft.

One suggestion to counter this “thievery” is a national sales tax that also eliminates the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which grants Congress significant taxation power. Another proposal is the Value Added Tax, a consumption tax applied at each step during the production and sale of goods. High-profile critics of our current tax system, such as Congressman Ron Paul, believe reducing the federal government to its specific Constitutional powers will eradicate taxation.

Compared to many other countries, the U.S. has a moderate personal income tax rate. In 2008, Sweden approached a 60 percent rate. Citizens there received social programs such as universal health care. Mexico had a rate below 30 percent but had to borrow heavily to fund social programs [source: Acosta].

Taxation remains controversial. Franklin Delano Roosevelt said it was a payment for being in an organized society, but humorist Gerald Barzan observed, “Taxation with representation ain’t so hot, either.”