You posted, in part: No, it’s not just like buying gas or earning income. Those are voluntary acts of commerce. Nobody gets taxed for NOT buying gasoline. Nobody pays income tax for income the DIDN’T earn.
***
We do get taxed for failing to do certain things, and have for a long time. If we fail to take advantage of any number of tax deductions by, for example, not giving to charity, or not buying a home, etc. etc., our tax liability is increased. I am sure that there are many other examples, but these are enough to prove the point— unfortunately.
No, those are deductions on a tax that only exists if you actively engage in the commerce of earning wages or playing the stocks. A deduction on a tax on activity is nothing at all like a tax created specifically to punish inactivity.
This is a punitive and direct tax, not a deduction on a voluntary tax.
There is a difference between a tax deduction for what you do and a tax for something you don’t do.