also, if you don't have income or any other money coming in, you won't be taxed (after it turns long-term.. as in 1 year) on up to $35k if you're single, and $70k if you're married. i posted a link for this under the legal subforum.

capital gains is annoying, I lost like $2k in shares when a company went bust but it's not like you pay less tax when that happens - it just has to be written into your tax return records year after year until you can use it to offset a capital gain, I couldn't be bothered doing that for the 10+ years since then so I'll just have to sell for cash or I'll end up paying more tax than I'm supposed to.

At noon GMT.

I have no problem paying for taxes if the government uses them well. Frankly the libertarian utopia doesn't convince me, Bioshock is a testament to that . But you should try it to see if it works although I wouldn't hold my breath.

Well Ayn Rand's work, which is the basis for the philosophy of many libertarians I know, is also highly fictional...

No longer fiction. Look at what's happening in Venezuela. Life imitates art.

Libertarians do not believe in zero government, that is liberal scare tactics. What libertarians do believe in is limited government covering essential common good services (roads, courts, education (not union education), etc), which today comprises a fraction of the bloated US government.

If they're basing their philosophy on the story, they're doing it wrong.

If the story inspires them to consider the philosophy or they consider it illustrative of the philosophy, that's more like it.

By the way, it's nice that you are happy to pay your taxes if the government spends it well. However, you might want to consider that other people may have different opinions on that or, indeed, what constitutes "spending it well" and taxes are not voluntary.