Q&A: Parking
Parking
Question
Is someone who parks on the street and does not pay the required fee (and hopes that in the meantime he won’t get a ticket for parking without paying) considered a thief? Is he stealing? And what is the law abroad, where the state is not Jewish?
Answer
First, regarding the parking itself: this is theft of land, and it is doubtful whether the prohibition of theft applies to that. However, there is an obligation to pay because of the law of the land, and perhaps also because the state/municipality is the owner that makes the place available for use, and perhaps with respect to the money there could be theft. But in my understanding this is not theft, because the decision to charge for parking is arbitrary and is not given in exchange for a service (the proof is that there are parking places that remain free, and for some reason they decide to paint a certain area). This is tax evasion, not theft. It is a violation of the law of the land, and as long as it is done the way a reasonable citizen would do it, in my opinion there is no prohibition in this.
Discussion on Answer
Why is tax evasion not theft? You are taking money from the entire state that rightfully belongs to it, and on top of that you cause other people to pay more. Is what you wrote — that tax evasion is not theft — specifically about the fine here, or in general do you think tax evasion is not theft?
Is it permissible to change the color of the curbs, as some people do? Or is that theft?
Tax evasion is not theft. As I explained, using services without paying is theft.
Changing the color does not help at all. It is just plain deceit that does not change the real situation.
I repeat that I am talking about tax evasion in general. Why is there no service? Everything the state does comes from tax money. That is, every service you receive from the state comes from tax money, and if you did not pay for it then you are stealing. Why is that not called theft?
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I explained that this is a tax imposed arbitrarily, and it is not in exchange for a service.
There is no difference between the State of Israel and other countries, unless we are speaking of corrupt countries where the law of the land does not apply.