In some countries, citizens receive medical care and higher education from their governments. Obviously, in these countries, some portion of government revenues pay for these services. Which is to say, medical care and higher education are functions of government paid for by taxpayers.
In the United States, healthcare and higher education are administered by the private sector, and to a lesser extent, by the public sector. Most American citizens will, in their lives, pay a significant portion of their income purchasing healthcare and education services from private (albeit nonprofit) entities. Because it is basically impossible to avoid paying for at least one of these services at some point in one’s lifetime, these expenditures are effectively equivalent to mandatory payments.
When we consider that, in some circumstances, healthcare and higher education are functions of government which are paid for by taxpayers, we can potentially view American’s expenditures for these services as a form of private sector taxation. We privately pay for what others receive from the government, but our payments are not always entirely elective. In fact, they are sometimes a matter of life and death. No matter the country, individuals still pay. Either to a government or private entity. Under our system, whether this is effectively a “tax” is a matter of semantics. The burden on the individual is the same.