AFIK that’s the way premined currencies work. The “miners” (which are not miners, as you say they just validate the blockchain) are controlled and are not that many

To be fair I’m not that knowledgeable about XRP and other premined tokens.

There are transaction fees on cash too, it’s called GST, petrol tax, income tax, etc. This would just make it easier to levy taxes so we can eliminate more onerous taxes

Oh I get that, I’m all for reducing or removing regressive taxes such as GST in favor of progressive taxes. Dreams are free, but that ain’t going to happen.

Actually, a digital currency would make it much easier for businesses to collect and report GST. I’ve worked in retail before, it’s a real headache.