Unless it's because they tried to use some resources that the government assigned you exclusive rights to, then it's an integral part of a free society?
Failure to pay income tax is not a crime punishable with prison time. If you cannot pay, all the IRS will do is arrange for future payment through civil methods (e.g. garnishing future wages, putting a lien on your house, etc). If your poor, the IRS won't throw you in jail. However, if you have a reasonable source of income, you will be asked to pay your share of the services you're using[2].
Note that tax evasion/fraud[1] is illegal, which may be difficult to distinguish in some cases.
[1] not to be confused with tax avoidance
[2] services like national security, various types of infrastructure, verification and enforcement of safety regulations (e.g. no melamine in your food). You may not like all of these services - I certainly disagree strongly with some - but citizenship is not à la carte[3]. If you don't like some things your tax money is going to, I encourage you to participate in the political process so your opinions are heard, or even run for office yourself.
Refusal to report your private income (surrender your financial privacy) is punishable by prison.
>If your poor, the IRS won't throw you in jail. However, if you have a reasonable source of income, you will be asked to pay your share of the services you're using.
This is false. The government does not ask. The government demands and punishes non-compliance with expropriation of private property and or prison.
> Refusal to report your private income (surrender your financial privacy) is punishable by prison.
Of course. You still have to file tax forms, and if you have the money you have to pay it. The situation I'm referring to is how not having the money to pay taxes is only a civil offense. Failure to file or filing fraudulently are, of course, offenses that risk jail time.
> This is false.
I suspect you're conflating filing the tax paperwork (i.e. 1040 and related forms) with the actual payment. These are separate requirements with different potential punishments for non-compliance.
>The government demands and punishes non-compliance with expropriation of private property and or prison.
In your ideal world, when you legitimately owe someone money and you're past due, what should happen when you refuse to pay, and you're willing to escalate as far as possible? You seem to object to the idea that repeated noncompliance can increase the severity of punishment. But what's the alternative? To not enforce small crimes at all?
Difference is that those debt obligations were voluntarily assumed, whereas tax debt is an odd form of debt that is imposed on someone without their agreement.