Right to tax is conditional not absolute

(Published 11.7.2009)

http://www.dailynationalcourier.com/national_courier/jul2009_daily/11-07-09/artical/artical1.htm

Why doesn't the government trim down its lavish spending on luxuries and instead improve its efficiencies and improve quality of governance. In addition, why doesn't it find ways to increase the taxation base that thus far more or less remain limited to salaried class. Taxing the income irrespective of where it is being generated be it agriculture, stock market not only offers immense potential for "˜quality' tax generation. The only question is can a government of the elite, for the elite and by the elite should expect to take just such an initiative. Your guess should be as good as mine because we both know that our rulers- pseudo democratic or uniformed- are repugnant to law because they feel that they are the law unto themselves.
In addition, despite being conditioned to believe that tax is the only way to help government increase revenue the elected representatives of the people seem not inclined to answer one of the most pertinent question: Why should a government; any government any where, go to the point of imposing a tax through presidential order when a vast percentage of its people just don't have the luxury to increase their personal revenues? What could justify such tax-bullying tactics when the government not only fails to create even half decent paying jobs for its people but also miserably fails to check rampant profiteering by any and all types of producers, service providers and let the state-owned power utility companies to generate unaffordable utility bills to make an already impoverished people even more impoverished?
Nobody challenges the government's right to tax but what about its duties? Rights and duties are interlinked and revenue generation on the part of government is no exception to this rule. Government's right to impose and collect tax is linked to fulfillment of certain obligations the most important being that it should be spent with utmost justification on things and projects that benefit tax payers. In short, the revenue generation right of the government is conditional and not absolute.
We all know just how judiciously the revenue collected by the government, mainly from the salaried class, is spent. Poor and debt-ridden as we are, the policy makers have no qualms at all to allocate a massive sum of Rs 645 million for traveling, conveyance, air tickets and other expenses of the 342 members of the National Assembly in the latest budget. Forget the fact that our rulers are begging around the world for alms to save country from total economic and financial collapse. Forget that the allocation is in addition to millions that every single of our parliament cost us every month. Forget also that people are committing suicide en masse, are hungry, tattered and sick with no access to the least government help.
The people are already taxed to death and yet the policy makers see it fit to even tax their patience. The gulf between rich and poor has widened to a point where poor are forced to hand over their young dead children to charitable organizations simply because they can not even afford the burial expenses. But instead of providing any relief to the people the elected representatives, those occupying the treasury benches in particular and opposition benches in general, are bent on justifying their right to tax.
Every year in June Pakistanis have rendezvous with increased poverty, increased debt and increased taxation despite being forced to absorb increased taxes on the one hand and profiteering on the other throughout the year. As for our legislators they seem to have honed the art of spending the taxes before they collect them. Things have come to a point where the people are extremely scared of any and all promises made by politicians because they know it would manifest itself into another tax a day later.
Yes things are really bad for the majority of people of this country; particularly for the honest, hard working, uncorrupt, scrupulous and law abiding. The islands of luxury in the midst of absolute poverty that make up negligible percentage of the population get away with most heinous of the crimes in a country where rich are exempted from taxes as well as from obeying any law with complete impunity.
As always, a parliament dominated by landed feudals, industrialists, males and females belonging to political families that take turn to rule- in short the parliament of the rich, the powerful and the elites- ensure the continuation of the status quo by refusing to tax the agriculture income. While one should have been a fool to expect anything else from such a coterie of ruling aristocracy the fact remains that taxation in Pakistan is meant to maintain the utmost luxury of the rulers instead of to provide the least relief to the people.
The biggest cabinet in the world fails to shame our rulers. Inhumane living conditions and absolute disregard to lack of human dignity and the life itself mean nothing to them. The only thing that matters to them is "their right to tax"- no matter how unjust, unreasonable and unaffordable it may be. The sliding of increased number of subjects below the absolute poverty line, that has already touched around 40 per cent during last none years of despotic rule, seem not to move a government which calls itself "the government" of the people. What a paradox.