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  • Daylight Robbery

  • How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future
  • By: Dominic Frisby
  • Narrated by: Dominic Frisby
  • Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (327 ratings)
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Daylight Robbery cover art

Daylight Robbery

By: Dominic Frisby
Narrated by: Dominic Frisby
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

For most people, tax is something we pay, simply because we must. We seldom think much more about it; in fact, tax is something we'd rather forget. 

But the reality is that tax is the key to power. No government can survive without tax revenue - it is the fuel that every state, large and small, runs on. Many of the problems we face today, not least the enormous wealth gaps between rich and poor and between generations, can be traced back to our systems of tax. If you tax windows, many will sacrifice their daylight. If you tax cigarettes, some people will choose not to smoke; others will take up smuggling. Tax companies too much and many will relocate offshore.

In Daylight Robbery, Dominic Frisby offers an alternative vision of a system that is as old as civilisation itself. It will take you on a whirlwind journey through the history of taxation, from ancient Mesopotamia right up to the present day, explaining the key dynamics of taxation around the world and arguing that governments are going to have to radically change who they tax and how if they are to succeed in the future.

©2019 Dominic Frisby (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Daylight Robbery

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Brilliant and Excellent

Delivered Very well by the author...opened my eyes on the history of taxation and how the world we live in is controlled and influenced by taxation....very relevant to whats going on currently...a must read for everyone...highly recommended..

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An enthralling look at history, culture & society

Having previously enjoyed the author's previous work, I had high expectations for this. Those expectations, however, have been surpassed!

At first glance a book about tax may sound dull and uninteresting, but in this instance nothing could be further than the truth. The sheer, phenomenal scale of how tax has literally shaped our lives in more ways than you would imagine, and how it has been hugely significant in virtually every major historical event is mind blowing.

It's difficult to resist sharing some of the knowledge and facts I have learned, but I don't want to give anything away to potential readers/listeners. This book is literally surprise after surprise, fascinating fact after fascinating fact. Even the book's title is taken from some interesting tax related trivia.

It is highly educational, but without any tedious scholarly feel to it. Rather the author, Dominic Frisby, has the wonderful writing ability to come across as your mate down the pub who would be excellent on quiz shows, such is their font of knowledge. No technical or academic jargon, just everyday plain English that everyone can relate to.

Listening to the audio version, narrated by Dominic Frisby himself, is especially enriching. Dominic's relaxed and friendly manner adds the perfect colour to a fascinating journey throughout history, offering a perspective I don't think has ever been offered elsewhere.

I highly recommend this book, regardless if you find the subject of tax an appealing notion or not. I guarantee this book will surprise you and grip you.
Much like Mr. Frisby's excellent book "Life After The State", my friends are going to be hearing a lot about this book from me until they do themselves a favour and check it out for themselves.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Libertarian & Crypto, Not a Tax Book

I knew nothing of Dominic Frisby before purchasing this and purchased to get more view points on tax.
Unfortunately within a a few minutes, suspicions of the true agenda were arisen. Like a bad joke where you can see the punchline coming, I was waiting for the libertarian and cryptocurrency topics to come... and come they did.
It was subsequently no surprise to discover Dominic is a non exec director of a Cryptocurrency company, nor that he is a not particularly funny comedian.

The Good:
The chapters around the use of taxes in various civilisations and throughout history are quite interesting and the strands between them are well made.
The Bad
Frequent cherry picking of snippets of history to suit his agenda of pushing libertarianism for the elite and cryptocurrencies as the solution, without addressing how it will benefit those below the poverty line already.
The Ugly
His abhorrent treatment and simplification of the Irish Famine being due to solely to tariffs on imports and the American Civil war are particularly egregious.

Dominic does make some very fair points, by and large the tax system is broken and needs reform and the chapters with the futurist lens are all well within realms of possibility.
The authors main aim however is to ensure that as a well-off libertarian with vested interests in crypto that he can convince everyone else that this is the future.
As a Brexit candidate he does not appear even too committed, he frequently cites references from conservative think tanks to forward thinking social agencies so long as they help paint the picture he wants.

His best suggestion? What if we stopped funding education and healthcare and allowed people to do what they want with the money in their pockets.
Just take a look at how private health insurance treats those who do not have access to free healthcare - but he neglects to address this.
Despite the fact I agree with him the tax system is broken, he also fails to address how the majority of us take out as much as we put into the system over the course of our lives.



Ultimately, if you do want a contrarian and challenging view on taxes and how the future could be then this is a thought provoking listen. He stops short of unveiling a shrine to Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road.

However approach with caution if you don't like the wool being pulled over your eyes, cherrypicking of information, frequent "this is beyond the scope of this book" approach when things become inconvenient to tackle and the real agenda behind it.

The latter chapters are littered with anecdotes about technology and big data that have been told a million times in recent books (you've heard how Target predicted someone was pregnant from their data right?... yeah he uses that and many others)

Dominic is not a historian, economist or futurist and there's little original thought here.

If you're a fan of Dominic Frisby then this will I'm sure entertain and it's well structured. If you're just interested in what he has to say, it's still worth seeing his view point.

Regardless, for a well balanced discussion on the Social Contract I recommend What We Owe Each Other by Minouche Shafik.

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excellent analysis of tax treatment in society

never thought tax could be so interesting. many of the problems of the world can be traced back to taxation. well worth reading.

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A view of history through the lens of taxation

A very interesting tour of history through the lens of taxation and an interesting overview of how crypto currency and the internet is reshaping the modern world

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Actual, factual and scary to know about taxes

I learned a lot about history and specially about taxes, a book that all of us should read, as part of members of any society that pay taxes.

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Engaging listen on a dull but important topic

I really enjoyed this book. It contains a lot of information which is delivered in a way that remains engaging.

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great work if not 100% in it prospects

great work as ever his books are a great colection of how to live your life

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Great history of taxation & methods explained

Great historical narration of tax.
This should be required reading for perspective Members of Parliament in the UK.

Inproving the lives of the many who seek shelter from reality in I'm a celebrity and Strictly etc is a hard ask on the group who can bring change. The book states a great Uptopian vision at the end. Spoiler ALERT: Where tax is basically transparent to the electorate but it assumes they are bright enough and be bothered to be engaged.

So I am hoping Dominic might look at how that change could come about, an eco intectual based version of Extinction Rebellion? How and where these groups can be originated and work together with the joint aims of Sound money and democratised taxation. With end the result of a more sustainable planet whose aims align witn the aggressive ER whose PR machine is too abrasive for 95% of the population even though many can agree with the planet side of their views. Jumping up and down offering no solution has been a huge wasted opportunity.

So could we next, see a book on the history of advertising and propaganda, Trump's election campaign and the first use of intelligent electral targetting (Cambridge Analytics). How will these groups use the work of Edward Louis Bernays to bring Dominic's Utopia to market? Occupy, ER show us how it's possible to motivate the eco intellectualism of the Sunday Sport reader but we need to make the story of how the "Utopian" party appeals to different market segments of people with different life understanding and motivations. Which can only do now in the cybernetic world we now live in. We now have the tools to have the same slogans marketed to each segment and neither segment needs to know or realised how it is being communicated to in slightly different ways.

New book please. Title:

"I want this one". The marketing of asperational politics to the masses"

Great appendix to those who read The Sovereign Individual

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Wonderful history and a very interesting set of predictions

This books offers a wonderful view of history through the lenses of tax. I very interesting and cogent account is given.

The predictions for the future are very interesting but we will have to wait and see how accurate they are.

I hope Mr Frisbee continues to write more books and I will be sure to listen to them.

Lay off the Bitcoin thought please.

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