This archive report was first published on 14 July 2019.
On July 14, 2019, the Nation published an article by Scheaffer Okore, highlighting the disservice of paying taxes in a country led by greed and theft.
Tax, a compulsory contribution to state revenue, is levied on workers' income and businesses, and can also be added to the cost of goods and services as Value Added Tax. However, the government does not make money as assumed, but rather takes money from its people to function.
The amount of money Kenya has lost through theft of public funds is unimaginable, yet it is considered a crime when citizens try to protect themselves from thieves. The time has come to open our eyes to the reality that our representatives are fighting for a different kind of people, not the larger Kenyan population.
Employers have a responsibility to protect employees from public thieves, and employer associations should demand accountability when it comes to tax usage. It is unrealistic to expect citizens to pay taxes without knowing how the money is being used.
Government representatives understand the language of money, and we should speak to them in the same way. We've seen how they're united when proposing salary increments, and we need to be united in figuring out how to boycott taxation.
Maybe if there's a possibility of no salary to increase and nothing to steal, they may start acting right. Taxes are meant to equalize access, but that's not the case in Kenya. There are penalties for not paying taxes, but no penalties for stealing, wasting, misappropriating, or misusing taxes.
