>As I understand it many first-world governments confiscate some portion of estates.
>
>Some people (myself included) consider "tax" as just a politically correct way to say "confiscate".
>

I think that's totally wrong, just as I object to the current right-wing characterization of taxation as "theft." When you get to vote for the government that imposes the taxes, it's neither confiscation nor theft. It's the price for being part of a civilized society.

Tamar