body-container-line-1
06.12.2021 Feature Article

Don’t play dirty populist politics with taxation, please!

Dont play dirty populist politics with taxation, please!
06.12.2021 LISTEN

How do fellow Ghanaians understand the factual saying that, “Every successful country in the world was built through the sweat and the blood of its citizens?” Is it not by the active physical, intellectual and financial participation of its citizenry?

How could a citizen of a successful country like say, the Great Britain, France, United States of America, Germany and Canada, just to mention a few, have contributed towards the economic and national development of their country to make them so attractive to become green pastures that Africans desire to migrate there to fleece? Is it not through their sweat and blood?

Is by their sweat not understood in some sense to mean the individuals working hard in various sectors of the economy and contributing towards the general economic development of the nation through the payment of taxes as may be imposed on them by the government?

All citizens cannot come out to physically participate in the construction of public roads, hospitals, schools, etc. However, through their taxes pulled together, the government can employ and pay some people to carry out all the essential projects needed by the citizenry to make life better for all.

Some people have died in the process of working harder to make their nation stronger and successful. Think about the military going to war to protect their country against external aggressors. Think about the police trying harder to maintain peace and order or providing security to the people in which case some of them end up dead. Such people have sacrificed their life and through their blood, their nation becomes successful.

A government can carry out developmental projects through the resort to taxation of the people and borrowing from internally and externally. However, there is a limit to how much and how far a government can fall on borrowing without sacrificing their nation and the future of the generation yet unborn on the sacrificial altar of the lenders, especially, the foreign lenders.

If Ghanaians do not want Ghana to be engulfed in difficult and never-ending debt to pay, then we had better tighten our belts to accept the payment of taxes.

Do you want to live comfortably today through the government borrowing to provide you all the essential needs you require at the demise of the future generations, thus, at the expense of your children and your yet unborn grand and great grandchildren and theirs? I will personally say no. I have to contribute towards clearing the debt incurred because of my quest to live comfortably rather than to shift all the debts on to my yet unborn grandchildren and theirs. I can only help to reduce the debt that is making life a bit easier for me today by paying up my fair share of the government-imposed taxes.

I am very much aware how all Ghanaians desire to have good asphalted-roads, potable pipe borne water, good hospitals and better healthcare, good security and all the best things in life if possible, yet, they don’t want to pay taxes.

Ghanaians are generally noted for wanting everything free. Nonetheless, it said, “nothing comes free but at a price” or “everything comes with a price”.

Are Ghanaians aware how the African country Zambia is almost taken over by China because of the nation’s heavy indebtedness to China? China has taken over the country’s airport, national electric grid, hospitals and almost all their major infrastructures. They claim Zambia owes them money that it is unable to pay hence taken full ownership of such valuable national assets without which a nation ceases to be a sovereign nation. Is that what Ghanaians want to see Ghana become through international borrowing?

For Ghana to truly become a “nation beyond aid”, we need to pay taxes for the provision of the essential projects of which we will otherwise always go on borrowing to finally end up being owned by the Chinese or other foreign financiers.

Why do we have to play dirty politics with the future of our nation to end up in strangulating colonialism under the hands of the merciless Chinese who are currently baiting African countries to their doom using soft loans?

Let us leave the discussions about the methods and forms of taxation in Ghana to the financial and economic experts to tell whether the e-levy and the other taxes introduced in the 2022 budget are that evil.

How do we expand the tax net as a nation? Can those making hoo-ha about the 2022 budget please tell me? How do we raise money to provide all the necessities that we expect from the government?

The little said about the populist politics embarked on by the NDC to fool Ghanaians at this juncture, I hope, much the better.

The NDC are always never ready to tell Ghanaians the truth but lies. They oppose anything good as long as it comes from the NPP.

Ghanaians had better wise up or else, we shall sooner end up slaves of the Chinese and other foreign lenders in our own land.

Rockson Adofo

Monday, 6 December 2021

body-container-line