New demands from the public, new taxes from the state, and we can go only from one revolution to the next.

Frédéric Bastiat
Pamphlets
Section 3 of 7

After presenting what could ressemble a liberal state, Frédéric Bastiat exposes the tax regime of his times, which was the ancestor of the current regime. He advocates a simple tax regime that would allow it to be just (the French fiscal jungle of the 21st century is far from fair, having even lost any pretence of consistency) – Hong Kong in the years following 1997 has proven that it is possible with a very limited number of taxes that do not leave room for tax deductions.

Today’s quote adequately describes the problem of blotted government (which was not yet completely the case at the time) – the more the prerogatives of government increase, the more its financing needs become unbearable for the population. Here again, Hong Kong within the first twenty years of the 21st century has demonstrated that a government with limited powers allows for a constrained burdened of taxes and other mandatory contributions.

Other quotes from Justice and Fraternity:
Section 1 of 7 – Section 2 of 7 – Section 4 of 7 – Section 5 of 7 – Section 6 of 7 – Section 7 of 7