One thing that I find odd, is that nearly all my working life, I have been told in the media that tax is evil, spawned from the devil of socialism.

The truth is, most people cost the state far more than they think and would die in poverty if state health and education was privatised and taxation was abandoned. It would be like living with Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome.

We all know a certain type of person who loves to shout:
“I’ve paid tax all my days! I fund everyone else!”

Adorable. Genuinely adorable. However, the maths says something very completely different.

Your Schooling Alone Was a Six-Figure Freebie

From age 5–18, the state quietly spent around £115,000 turning you from a small feral creature into someone who can read, write, and complain on Facebook about taxes.

That’s before counting any early-years help, youth services, or the teacher who broke down crying when you mocked her rusting Hillman Imp.

Adulthood? Also Not Cheap

Once you hit 18, the state continues to spend money on you, even if you swear you “use nothing.”

Healthcare, roads, bins, police, pensions, GPs, the NHS stitching you back together after doing something stupid when pissed up – all in, the average adult racks up about:

£24,000 of public spending every single year

Live to 85? That’s £1.6 million right there.

Try getting that level of service from the private sector without selling a kidney.

What You Actually Pay In

Let’s assume you’re the model citizen:

•   Work 18–67
•   Earn the average salary
•   Pay every tax going without hiding money in a shed

Over your lifetime you might cough up:

£1.0–1.3 million in taxes Not bad at all but remember…You will have cost around £1.7 million. Congratulations: you’re not the nation’s financial saviour. You’re not even breaking even and that’s even if you remain in decent health.

So No, You Don’t Personally Fund the Entire Country

Most of us aren’t “net contributors” funding everyone else.

Most of us are just grateful recipients of:

•   Free education
•   Free healthcare
•   Roads that don’t charge tolls
•   Fire engines that arrive before the house is gone
•   Pensions that, if topped up, just about stop us eating cat food in old age

And that’s fine. That’s how a civilised society works. So, the next time someone says, “I’ve paid in all my life!” Try replying:

“Yes, and the state has probably spent even more keeping you alive, educated, and not on fire. You’ve got yourself a bargain mate.”

Pay More Tax

We should probably pay more tax. The problem is, it too often extra money ends up in the hands of private government contractors like Serco, who have shareholders to pay before they spare a thought for the tax payer with a grumbling appendix. So, it doesn’t feel like a bargain and is possibly, at least in part, why £40 billion a year is lost to those choosing not to pay it.

Privatisation of public services has been the biggest con in modern history, not tax increases. If health ends up that way as well, we’re all going to hell on a piss stained trolley.