You don't pay taxes–they take taxes.

Rock’s line is a comic reframing of civic language: instead of citizens voluntarily “paying” taxes, the state (and employers via withholding) effectively “takes” them. The joke hinges on the loss of agency implied by modern taxation, especially payroll withholding, where money is removed before a worker ever handles it. It also plays into Rock’s broader stand-up persona—skeptical, streetwise, and attentive to how official euphemisms soften harsher realities. Beneath the punchline is a critique of power and consent: calling it “paying” suggests choice and participation, while “taking” emphasizes compulsion and the asymmetry between individuals and institutions.