Choose not to pay your mortgage. What happens? They take your house. Does that make mortgages theft? No, it doesn't.
What makes something "theft" is that it's an illegitimate taking. The only way you can say that about taxation is to have already defined government as being illegitimate. Then (and only then) taxes are theft.
But if someone hasn't already made "all governments are illegitimate", then arguing that they'll take things from you if you don't pay taxes isn't the convincing argument you seem to think it is.
> Choose not to pay your mortgage. What happens? They take your house. Does that make mortgages theft? No, it doesn't.
You opt-in to having a mortgage and agree to terms.
I'm not aware of such an option for taxes or citizenship. If you are born in on US soil you are made a citizen, including all the legal rights and benefits as well as the tax liability.
Well, if I understand correctly, there was the option of becoming an outlaw - literally someone outside the law, which meant that the protection of the law didn't apply to you. Anyone you met was free to kill you. But you didn't have to pay taxes.
But if you want the protection of what taxes pay for - the rule of law - then you need to pay the taxes.
What makes something "theft" is that it's an illegitimate taking. The only way you can say that about taxation is to have already defined government as being illegitimate. Then (and only then) taxes are theft.
But if someone hasn't already made "all governments are illegitimate", then arguing that they'll take things from you if you don't pay taxes isn't the convincing argument you seem to think it is.