Non-residency income was taxed during the civil war in an effort to raise funds for the war effort. Later congress passed a law in 1966 enacting IRS code 877, taxing expats for 10 years after they declare they are no longer US citizens.

These things are rooted in different times. Laws should change to reflect the changing circumstances. I'm hard pressed to think of how they might change given the current debt situation the United States has allowed ourselves to get in.

Either we decide to change ourselves, or be subject to the breaking of the system.

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Keep in mind that the people enacting tax laws have a vested interest in maintaining the system. Saying that laws should do x completely misses the point of laws. They’re not for our benefit. They do whatever benefits the state without inciting a rebellion.

I'm not saying laws should do anything other than change with the times.

Constant resets are needed to keep government honest and accountable.

Government, by its nature, is not honest or accountable. When the government makes a mistake, they investigate themselves. No one else holds them accountable.

Rothbard wrote a series of books called conceived in liberty. He talked about the early years in American history and described it as a constant battle between freedom and tyranny. Our idea of the past is inaccurate because of government school propaganda. The only unique thing that a government offers is coercion. And any group that uses violent coercion to force people to follow “laws,” no matter how moral it seems, is still based on violence. That makes it unjust. Honest and accountable government is an oxymoron.