Since income taxes are an cost associated with having a successful business rather than a cost incurred to earn revenue, can it be argued they should be shown as a government expropriation of property on the statement of retained earnings?

Taxes are an expense of doing business. Calling taxes a government expropriation is like saying that wages paid to employees is theft by the employees, or cost of materials is theft by vendors. It doesn't help clarify the income statement at all!

In theory, taxes are spent on you, the taxpayer, in the form of public services.
We can gripe all we want, but we choose to live here and we elect our gov't.

(I don't want bombers and pork. I don't even have kids to educate. But I am getting Social Security and Medicare, more than I paid in.)