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> The xenophobes here tend to prefer "taxpayer"

The irony, I guess, being that the xenophobes probably intend to raise a distinction better delineated by the word "citizen".

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I think it's because those with political influence who espouse xenophobic views also tend to dislike the poor. "Taxpayer" as an identity has connotations of "only the landed gentry should have a voice in society's management", whereas "citizen" connotes equal rights and a voice in society regardless of income.

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