Taxation is one of the various ways a state generates revenue, which is used to fund development to ensure the betterment of the country and the life of her citizens. Taxation system differs for every country but it doesn't change the general perspective of it which is "a pain in the ass" I mean after working a 9-5 job for an entire month only to collect your pay check and realise a sum of money as been deducted as tax, No matter how patriotic you might seem the thought of it won't make you smile because you know you still have to get stuck in the traffic every morning which makes you wonder what exactly the tax you paid is being used for.
As unpleasant as it might feel, it is what our constitution demands of every citizen in the labour market. Over time there has been argument about the structure of taxation system in order to ensure it doesn't become burdensome for any citizen regardless of your financial status. Which begs the question, should the rich pay more taxes than the poor? Before answering that, tax paying mechanism involves paying of specific percentage of money from your salary. Imagine if this percentage of tax is equally paid by every citizen regardless of how much you earn, to an extent it might look unfair. I mean why should I have to pay the same percentage of tax with someone earning millions.
Since they earn more money then they should pay more tax, it might sound quite fair in the surface but not entirely. It is like being punished for being rich, if the law should demand equal right for both the rich and the poor then why should it demand more tax from the rich than the poor? Both the rich and the poor are both entitled to the same right within a country though it might not look like it but that is what is stated in the constitution. If the rich should have to pay more tax than the poor does that make them entitled to more benefits within a state?
It is no doubt that in most state the percentage of the poor among the masses is usually a lot higher than the rich, which means creating a policy that ensures the rich pay more tax than the poor will surely be in favour of the masses. Which brings about the system of the more you earn the more tax you pay, for an average person with an average mentality wouldn't want to improve their skill or strive for an increase in salary to avoid paying more taxes which might sound like a ridiculous assumption but let's consider a country that actually operates this taxation system.
Germany for instance, uses the taxation system that involves the more you earn the more you pay to reduce the burden of tax on average citizens. It also gets a lot better, it turns out that those that earn below £400 are not expected to pay taxes. Surely those that earn below £400 euros definitely belongs to the category of the poor. That is not all, Germany also pays unemployed citizens £400 to sustain themselves, an amount of money that is not taxable.
As beautiful as this might sound, a lot of people have decided to start taking advantage of this, as you all know there is always a loophole in every policy. Some Citizens have chosen to remain unemployed in order to avoid paying taxes which has reduced the number of people in the work force and also making taxation burdensome for the few that choose to remain employed either rich or poor.
Mind you, the money used as an upliftment fund for the unemployed is deducted from the money paid by tax payers. Imagine a person that earns below £400 that doesn't pay tax either unemployed/employed compared to someone that earns at least £500 paying tax, after deducting money spent on transportation and tax do you think such a person would still have £400 left with him or her? Despite all that, both parties enjoy the same right within the state. It makes you wonder what the definition of fairness is?
In a case where the rich pay more tax than the poor, do you think they would consider themselves as equals with the poor? It would become natural for them to request for more constitutional benefits from the state since they make more contribution to the development of the state compared to poor that constitute more than average population of the state. That is why in Nigeria, when a truck that belongs to a multinational company kills people, they instantly call it an accident but when angry mobs destroy the truck, they call it an act of vandalism or terrorism.
I'm aware of the fact that if tax being paid by the rich and poor is equal it might look unfair to the poor but that is what it means to be equal citizens in a state, I see no reason why the rich should suffer more from taxation than the poor. I'm just an average Nigerian also, based on my net worth I can't even categories myself as a rich person, then someday I become wealthy would I want to pay more taxes? definitely not, moreover we all have the right to upgrade our financial status in the society.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "The rich also pay" in hive learners community.
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