Our country lacks infrastructures such as public toilets, well paved roads, dustbins, free health services, unemployment benefits, housing benefits, etc. The strange thing is, we have been paying taxes since times perennial. We have been scratching the government’s back for a long time, but when will the government start scratching ours?
Think for a moment of anything you buy, and you will realize that everything you buy is taxed. From our drinking water to our drainage, every little thing that is of essence is taxed. Yet, the public has to suffer because of inadequate funds segregated for public services. The money collected from the public goes into the pockets of so called public servants, and yet it is the ordinary man, who works till he sweats, who suffers. It is about time the government started repaying us and stopped shattering our hopes of a better nation.
In a country where 200 percent tax is charged on vehicles that enter the country, it is a matter of shame that when the budget is announced, we are told that there are not enough funds to build private hospitals. The existing hospitals are also in a messy state. I recently visited TU Teaching Hospital as my little cousin had an accident playing at school. When I got there, his mother told me that he wanted to go to the toilet, and asked me to accompany him. I agreed. But when I reached the door of the toilet, I felt sick as the smell was disgusting. I held my nerves for a while and then walked him in, where I saw that the toilet had not been cleaned. The flush on the toilet didn’t even work. Couldn’t the government put some effort into making the health of public safer?
GRANITEGROK.COM
The country is in a rut because only the middlemen profit from anything. People who work in Tax Ministry, Airport, and other import/export points always seem to be better off than other government employees and normal citizens. It raises doubts about on whether the tax we pay ultimately goes to the right place. Clearly, if the money did fall into the right hands, the government wouldn’t be turning a blind eye to the pathetic state of the country. If the system was working as it should, why do we always have to beg other countries to help us with our development? This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by the government.
A developing country like Nepal faces many obstacles from time to time. Raising taxes should be a good way for the governments of developing countries to raise the living standards of the public. The government has a duty towards its public, and money collected from taxes should enable the government to fulfill its duties. But in the context of our nation, the situation is rather paradoxical. People are paying taxes regularly and never see the returns.
Tax goes into the pockets of so called public servants, and it is the ordinary man who suffers.
A good way for the government would be to roll out incentives to people that pay their taxes regularly. Wealthy businessmen who pay more taxes should be encouraged to work together with the government in building the nation. A corruption free public body needs to be created by the government, which should be held responsible for maintaining tax books. Another good way of ensuring that the taxes collected are used properly could be the introduction of online reports. The government could provide a live system which shows the public how much tax has been collected and how it is being used.
If common people like us who go to work every day are forced into paying taxes, it is only a matter of time before the public come out into the streets. The government should start rewarding the efforts of its public with developmental works. Hydroelectricity should be a top priority for the government, as electricity is highly demanded by the public. Instead of letting a few live lavish lives with money collected from the public, the government should look to fulfill the overall demand. Transportation system is another area that needs top priority. A government owned bus service has to become operational as in other countries. Public schools and colleges have to be refurbished and quality teachers have to be reintroduced. Public toilets, welfare systems and other such issues have to be addressed immediately.
To reiterate, it is the time to transform everything in this nation. To change the nation, everything has to be changed radically. As Grant Cardone, NY Times best seller, puts it, “Revenue is God”, it is time the government started utilizing revenue collected from taxes to build this nation from scratch.
angel.sharma@expertsalestraining.co.uk
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