Tax equity in the face of equal access to government amenities
The lower class looks at the middle class with envy, and the latter views the upper class with much more envy. It's all a cycle of desires and aspirations. Taxes remain a fundamental obligation of every citizen. You don't have to be a government worker to pay tax. In fact, even traders are taxed just like every other citizen. The last one year was a bit crazy for Nigerians as regards tax deductions from debit alerts. There was a time that money was even deducted for credit alerts; it was that bad. Nigerians and traders thus made sure payments had extra N50 to cover the deductions. At some point, every alert was alarming; our hard-earned small monies were shortened from those varying deductions. Personally, I walked up to my bank and asked them to stop sending me SMS alerts; that was one way I reduced the debit alerts.
Just like tax, the government union declined accepting a percentage deduction in my state for an insurance program. The argument was that medical doctors earned more than the average civil servant, and a higher percentage should be deducted from theirs. Remember my opening statement? Well, the decision of the union as regards the insurance policy remained a dead end. The doctors equally disagreed on having a different percentage cut on their pay. But to be sincere, doctors can easily take care of their health as per consultation and drug purchases, unlike the average civil servant, who requires the health insurance more.
Similarly, a few of us may be familiar with the phrase 'social solidarity,' where the lows and highs are viewed as one and equity is aimed at. The principle is based on contributing resources from both the rich and poor into a pool so that equal access to a desired need can be achieved. Tax money is used by the government to build our schools, roads, industries, hospitals, and many other infrastructures we can see around. Well, this is one of the revenue sources for the government, among others. This tax money is thus transformed into those amenities aforementioned. I wish I could agree with taking a higher percentage from the rich citizens, but that would discredit the sense of equity.
A sense of responsibility should be bestowed upon the lower and middle classes to pay their tax just as the rich people do, and this should be done equally. Funny enough, many rich people do not even use the basic amenities that our taxes go into. Most rich people would rather fly overseas for medical treatment or use flights rather than ply our Nigerian roads. Billing the rich higher would bring a form of disdain and discrimination upon the lower classes. And the truth is that many people considered rich are paying back loans they took from banks to invest in their businesses. Imposing heavier taxes would probably inconvenience. And one thing I know is that citizens do not let the rich rest. Demands keep coming in from every angle as though a sense of entitlement, and when the rich deny them, they're often viewed as stingy.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.
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