1. You’re misrepresenting me. Obviously no is arguing that cost=tax. If I bought a minigun from Aim Point, obviously the 200 000 gralat price tag is not a tax. However, if the only way to buy guns is if I purchase a gun permit for 50 gralats- than the 50 gralats would be tax.
2. The necessary criterion of tax IS NOT to, “regulates the use of an item through prices,” “one-way payment,” or, “does not give me any product.” Perhaps it is characteristics or symptoms of taxes but it is not its essential nature. Hence, I fail to see how this bears any importance. After all, taxes are, to the core, a form of compulsory levy/ charge incurred/ imposed on x thing.
3. Is it not so tradeable permits directly regulate the use of an item via an incurred payment of melees/ sellables etc. That is, if I wanted to shoot more gunshots than the permissible amount I must pay/ trade/ transaction for example 50 shells from someone.
4. However, a permit is not “any other goods”, it’s mandated if one wishes to shoot more than the permissible amount. Just because I must trade for it or via any other thin veils instead of it being directly subtracted from my account makes no difference; the result remains the same.
5. My analogy was to purely demonstrate how I define taxes