THE CURSE OF TAXATION

Theoretically, taxing is devised for Societal sustenance and development; and governments’ worldwide majorly source funding for developmental activities via taxes.

While society expect governments to be innovative in raising funds for development and not burdening its citizenry in taxes, non-innovative governments resort to tax increment as pretext to the survival of development.

It therefore isn’t surprising that government(s) worldwide who delights in tax raise end up being low-rated by its citizenry; typical of which is George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the USA who compromised on living by his campaign promise of ‘no new taxes’.

Taxes however becomes a curse to nations that are plagued with corruption and corrupt public officials who care about nothing but to use public funds to fuel their greed and mendacity.

In Ghana, road tolls were gargantuanly increased in the name of road development but have so far yielded counter productive purposes as funds sourced is diverted for purposes other than the obvious. The roads remain untarred and unmotorable.

Recently, the Ghana government in a quest to generate Ghs208 million in 6 months introduced a tax law to envelope agricultural production tools including cutlasses, fertilizers, bows, arrows, etc. in the tax net.

For a government that engaged in a GHs15 million guinea fowl project, etc. coupled with an effortless quest to retrieve 40 million euros from Waterville a foreign based company that defrauded Ghana but for the heroic effort of Martin Amidu; the reasons for such tax raise is inconsistent with logic.

The mass protest by the people of Ashiaman in view of their bad road network magnifies the million questions as to the where about of the monies gathered from the road tolls and emphasizes how needless the new taxes are as it may end up in the pockets of a few greedy government officials.

 President Mahama should demonstrate innovation by expanding the tax net to gauge-in the other non- white color workers, and desist from the lazy operandi of targeting tools for aspects of the economy already under threat and vulnerable.

Moreover, the focus of taxing should be directed at sourcing from the bourgeois in society to supplement the proletariat and not vice versa – suicidal taxing machinery.

~ atiemo