Danger in heavy taxation without clear benefit

The government has recently embarked on an aggressive tax collection plan that is set to raise the cost of living for the average Kenyan dramatically. The government has had no qualms proposing a tax on everything, including such ludicrous taxes as tax on expenses incurred by citizens in their day to day transactions.

Whenever a poor Kenyan sends money to an even poorer relative, the telecommunications operator charges a user fee and further passes on to the user a government tax on the user fee. There have been intentions to further raise taxes on fuel so that it eventually constitutes over half its cost. The situation is so bad that even donated medications and hospital equipment are heavily taxed, discouraging philanthropists and multiplying the suffering of our patients.

LONG-SUFFERING

Unfortunately, while Kenyans are among the most highly taxed income earners on earth, they do not so obviously see what their taxes are used for. And herein lies the problem. While the government might argue that it is investing in long term mega-projects whose impact will only be felt several decades hence, citizens’ concerns about corruption and misappropriation of funds have not been adequately addressed. The recent high profile arrests and prosecutions will not sufficiently assuage the pain of the long-suffering Kenyan.

Indeed, one may argue that even as the government focuses on long-term projects, it cannot ignore more immediate needs and challenges. Our taxes must be put to use to ensure that we are safe, that our children get a good quality tax-funded education, that no Kenyan dies or suffers needlessly from a preventable cause, and that we are able to communicate efficiently and painlessly whenever we need to.

BASIC SERVICES

One doubts that you will find a single Kenyan who will complain about high taxation if these matters are taken care of. The reason for the currently increasing grumbles about taxes is that despite giving the government such a huge chunk of our income as tax, high quality basic services are mostly non-existent.

Another fact that makes it difficult to appreciate the government position is that while the citizen groans under the heavy tax burden, the government continues to borrow excessively to maintain a profligate expenditure regime.

TINIEST MORSELS

Our politicians still move around in tax-funded fuel guzzlers, and one was recently heard complaining that the people must pay for her business class plane ticket because of her status. Another bunch of politicians spent our money on a trip to go and watch the Football World Cup in Russia, and then had the cheek to characterise it as a ‘fact-finding tour’!

All one can conclude, to paraphrase a famous saying, is that governments rise and fall on the bellies of the taxpayer. Once the man on the street gets the feeling that government is too intrusive and is snatching even the tiniest of morsels from his mouth, the days of that government are numbered.

Atwoli is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Dean, Moi University School of Medicine; [email protected]