In my understanding and if I get it right, what we all call tax is a demand from the government and it has imposed directly or indirectly on all of us when we buy a certain commodity. However, every government workers also pay a certain amount of tax at the end of the month irrespective of the nature of the job that you are doing. In some more advanced countries, some usually find a way to bypass tax payments and when they are caught, they pay a punishment for it. A lot of people says paying tax is helps the government in some areas, but the real question is, is paying of tax beneficial to we the citizens too?
If you ask me, adulthood usually comes with some of the most weirdest feelings and unexpected heartbreak—it is not only about change the delayed in dreams, love, and ambition. Part of the heartbreak is paying of tax on almost everything you buy and yet, you can not say precisely or phantom where the money goes or what it is being used for. It is a big pain watching your income gets smaller and you are wondering in your mind, "when will the electricity in my area get better, when will the government tile the road?". Those are some of the questions which no one really have answers to.
Looking at my payslip every month with a mixed feeling and pride with some touch of bitterness despite the fact that I stay up late, I work hard, I show up bring so much pain. The government already have gotten their share of money even before I see the alert on my phone. All these developments with different names (development levies, stamp duty, pay as you earn PAYE, VAT) that the government has come up with is for whom exactly? Because to be honest here, I am still the one who provides the power, water, and sometimes security which we all call night vigilante.
The tax the Nigeria government place on we the citizens is just as if we live in New York city, and yet they under deliver like we leave in chaos. Do not get me wrong, I support tax, I believe in it as it is very necessary in the development of a country. But in the real sense of it, when the electricity is very poor, no stable electricity supply, when there is zero proper drainage on the street which later results into flooding, when the roads are bad and big potholes, when there is no adequate security, when there is not employment opportunities for graduates and a graduate ended up riding bike and our leaders keeps riding expensive cars and flying private jets, and then you begin to feel like a fool.
What really hurts is not the money being payed, but the silent treatment they all give after and no evidence of payment in form of a receipt. No appreciation. No evidence that our sacrifices were from something bigger.
Let me pose this important question to you all. As a Nigerian paying tax on everything you buy, will it be a bad idea to have a portal where we can all log into to see what our money is being used for, where every single naira goes? Where we all hold the government responsible, not with protest or hashtags but rather, with real power, people power. Power for the people. I dream of a Nigeria where paying of tax will not be like a punishment but rather a contribution.
Till then, I will keep paying my tax. But I will also keep hoping, keep asking, and above all, I will keep writing. Because I believe one day, this country Nigeria has to love us back.
