Tax is a compulsory levy imposed by the government on the earnings of individuals and businesses. It's a global phenomenon and also the major source of income for every government in the world.
Now, various countries have their taxing systems as well as different intentions when it comes to utilizing them. For Nigeria, we have the direct and indirect taxing system such that everyone, irrespective of their location, gets affected and is made to pay a sum from their earnings. The most common source of direct tax in Nigeria is the personal income tax, which is deducted from the monthly salary of employees by their employers. Other forms of direct tax include corporate income tax, petroleum profit tax, and education tax.
For the indirect tax system, these levies are imposed on goods and services such that for every item purchased or service rendered, a percentage of the actual cost is being included in the cost to sum up the total. The most common source of indirect tax is the value-added tax, which is usually imposed on luxury goods or items from luxury places like the mall. Other examples of indirect taxes include excise duty for specific items such as tobacco and cigarettes and then customs taxes for imported goods.
Personally, I really do not have anything against the taxing system in my country, just the method at which it's being imposed and collected. Last month I had received my salary and saw that almost 20% of it was gone. I nearly ran wild because the salary is not much, and despite it not being commensurate to the work I had put in, I still found a way to manage it and get it to sort some personal items.
I had already planned for my actual salary and was just anticipating it to drop, but then receiving less than the amount I had planned for was a huge disappointment I wasn't prepared to take. I immediately placed a call to the account department to ask what happened, and I was questioned back if I didn't receive my paycheck for the month. Actually, I was having storage issues, and my mail wasn't receiving emails. I explained the situation to them, and my paycheck was sent to my WhatsApp. That was when I saw I had been taxed for two months.
I called back and was informed the taxing system started this year. To say I was upset was an understatement, but I couldn't do anything about it because tax evasion is a serious offense anywhere in the world. I wasn't even angry about the deductions, but the fact that my hard-earned money will just end up in the pocket of greedy politicians. While the true intent of taxation was to finance the running of the economy, some corrupt leaders have devised a get-rich-quick scheme from the taxing system. Last night my mother and I were just discussing the situation of the economy. She said a majority of the populace cannot even afford a decent living due to the consistent increment in the standard of living.
I quickly added, sighting that, funny enough, it is this populace that can barely afford a decent life that is financing the running of the economy with their hard work and sweat. Because the so-called rich are masterminds when it comes to tax evasion and avoidance. They make so much money from the system and barely honor the tax levied against them. Every day I go to the market and see how the thugs of local government officials and traditional rulers harass local market people all in the name of tax collection that never gets to the government coffers. It doesn't matter how little they are earning; these thugs always find a way to squeeze out every penny of tax imposed on these market sellers, and failure to meet up will mean their goods being destroyed. It's quite unfortunate that the people meant to protect our interests are now the very nightmare that a majority have to live with.
I remember when we had a change of government in my state and they wanted to place a ban on tricycles due to its usage for theft. But then, after checking the revenue generated from sales of tickets to tricycle drivers, the government quickly retraced it's decision as sales of tricycle tickets contribute hugely to the States revenue generation.
Early this month, tricycle drivers went on strike because of an increment in their driving ticket. It's really annoying having to part with a percentage of your earnings and not see it reflected in the economy. The roads are bad, the electricity is epileptic in most areas, and other basic amenities that the taxing system ought to sort out for our benefit are left in rot and ruins, but every day we are being taxed one way or another. It's annoying, really, and if things continue like this, the people just might revolt against the system.