Conversely, if a
government does not collect
taxes, it is unable to perform it's basic function, which in
neo-liberal (AKA classical
liberal) terms, to defend the rich. Or, in
Keynesian liberal economic practice, to prevent the
economy from throwing itself into
depresssion.
People argue "Why should my
tax dollars go to pay some lazy
welfare bum?". The government also doesn't care about some "lazy welfare bum". The reason
welfare exists is to put money into the economy, so that the economy may upswing again during a
recession.
The taxes the government collects may seem to be prohibitively large, but they go into things that will protect the
money one does have.