As citizens or immigrants of a state/country, we are often charged with some levies. These levies are tenement rate, VAT, PAYE, etc. These levies are mandatory.
My intention today is to question the idea behind these levies and at the same time see why few decide on what to do with the money realized from taxes. To do that, we need to have a clear idea of the word tax who is a taxpayer.
A tax is a mandatory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed upon a taxpayer by a governmental organization in order to fund various public expenditures. Source
On the other hand, a taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to a tax on income. Taxpayers have an Identification Number (TIN), a reference number issued by a government to its citizens. Source
From the above, tax is a mandatory levy imposed on workers and business owners by the government. The charges are calculated based on your income and basic salary.
As workers, we pay tax every month. The companies we work for also pay tax for doing business in the state/country. It is an offence and in fact a punishable one to evade tax. This is the money government use to provide social amenities for the people.
While it is true that if you earn more, you pay more as a worker, the companies also pay more depending on many factors considered by the government.
My problem now is can we decide what these monies are used for? Is it possible to tell the government with a single voice about what we want these monies to be used for?
Based on the money generated monthly from different quarters, the government decide which road to construct, bridges, estate, hospitals etc. Is it possible to tell these people what we want them to use our money for?
Imagine the government using taxpayers money to build government houses, buy cars, travel abroad. They also decide which road to build first depending on which road they ply most or the number of complaints received.
How come we pay tax to government and they build houses, hospitals, parks and still charge us the taxpayers to use these things? Why can't these social amenities be made available for the masses to use without extra cost?
When they are campaigning to show their achievements, they often sound as if it was totally their efforts. They forgot to mention the taxpayers money they used at will. Their success is taxpayers success because we make it possible.
Is it possible to decide for the government as taxpayers on what they must do or how we want the money realised spent? I think this decision should rest on the shoulders of the taxpayers and not the government. We know these things more than they do and should have the chance to inform them about the roads, bridges, schools and hospitals they must construct.
I believe the power to decide on how to use taxpayers money should rest on the shoulders of the taxpayers.
Thanks for your time. Your boy @smyle the philosopher.
This is one question I keep asking myself, but to sum it up the society where we find ourselves today is not the kind that listens to the voice of the masses. We should have a big say on how our taxes are being spent, i stand with you on this.
yes the taxpayers should be the ones to decide what project their money is spent on, however the reverse is the case in Nigeria where most of the masses don't pay tax, hence they can't decide how the money is spent.