Tax and social contract

Sam Nwokoro

SIR: Nowhere else is the issue of citizenship loyalty and state obligation more tasked than on the issue of taxation. Ordinarily, tax is an age-old civic responsibility, especially common in the old order of welfare state where the state controls public service, production and distribution and provides social services.

Most nations of the world, even including the great economic juggernauts of today inherited this concept of taxation as an indispensable tool of public administration from their colonial masters. But when the American idea of economic liberalization, free market, democracy, internationalism and globalization replaced the welfare state, the issue of taxation as a public administrative tool became a subject of dynamic introspection and interrogation. Moral and expeditious considerations in the manner taxes are imposed on citizens gained acceptability-and with it taxation became a very dynamic, intricate and complex issue.

Nigerians are justified to worry about taxation here when it is realized that Nigeria runs one of the most expensive crowded bicameral legislature in the world, where a senator collects almost N6 million monthly multiplied by 306 members. Nigerians are justified to raise eyebrow about further taxes (whether of a new window or increment of existing ones) where a member of an over-crowded House of Representatives collects nearly N5 million monthly multiplied by 306 demagogues, some of who cannot even recite the National Anthem.

Nigerians can be excused for complaining about further taxes in nation where the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Committee gleefully stated that governors are free to collect 300% of their annual salary as pensions…even when they are still occupying political offices as ministers or senators.

On daily basis, nerve-wracking disclosures of corruption and raiding of public treasuries inundate the eyes. Yet no one feels any qualms about the implication of this on the tax-payer before slamming new taxes on them.

Nigerians are not quarreling that government is taxing them. But the issue is that the quality of service they are getting from the government tiers – states, LGAs and federal government do not excite their patriotism, nor inspires them to be hyper-patriotic citizens. They are being cheated all round. It is like their government do not love them nor bother about their feelings, but only interested in taxing them and consolidating political powers.

Nigerians pay for their own security in the streets and neighborhood, even for the foot-mat on their doorposts. They pay for their waste disposal and water (whether in sachet or jerry cans). They buy their food at prices that hardly ever comes down ones there is a rise in price. They save in the banks either directly or through Ajo contribution only for yahoo-yahoo politicians to borrow to contest elections and sponsor thugs.

A lot of inverted values and retrogressive ethos have in recent time been etched into our national creed that no longer warrants the government to demand that Nigerians pay tax any longer. That’s the truth.

• Sam Nwokoro,

Lagos.