What was so bad about the Empire?
as long as you didn't oppose them. how did they oppress others? excessive taxation?
shareThere's some deleted scenes where Biggs tells Luke that the Empire has nationalized industries, and is essentially taking over society; personal and professional. That's the intellectual reason.
The emotional reason is that Imperial troops vaporize Luke's god parents in order to get information.
They also slaughtered the Jawas manning the sandcrawler in order to get information.
That verse interrogating them and then holding them in prison or something.
Also note that there are no local police on Tatooine. Law is enforced by Imperial troops. Imagine the US Army patrolling the streets of your town instead of your local town cops.
The implication here is that the Empire has essentially taken over society with abuse to prevent abuse, but otherwise killing any and all who oppose how law is enforced and how people make a living.
It's never explained as such, but it's there.
Hope that helps.