TAXING has to be part of an economic plan and that plan has to be part of the developmental thrust of a country. Any and every development has to be guided by the political underpinnings a government pursues. It is hoped that this government, as it continues to enjoy the privilege of the people in managing their affairs, takes note.

As the society continues to examine the new items taxed and feel the impact, they are bound to be asking the question, if the government cares about them. Taxation must be measured based on the economic circumstances of the people who are expected to pay, at the same time at the political level we have to wonder if this government cares about its future.

The taxing of items and services such as condoms and education lessons comes immediately to mind and begs the question whether the government is operating in an alternate universe. This same government that moved to tax condoms is claiming an interest in reducing HIV/AIDS and achieving an HIV/AIDS-free society and condoms are seen as one of the most important tools in the achievement of these goals. We are concerned about poverty, when condoms are a family-planning tool, and by extension a poverty-control measure.

The government has taxed education lessons even as it claims it wants an educated nation and education is an important developmental tool. At the same time, the Guyana Teachers Union, in making representation for better working conditions, i.e. salaries, classroom size, curriculum improvement, contemporary disciplinary structure, teaching aids, etc., continues to find itself facing a brick wall from the government. Teachers are expected to use their personal resources to provide teaching aids in the discharge of their duties, as they continue teaching over-sized classes, and earning remuneration that remains less than desirable.

The government is falling short in providing appropriate services and support systems to improve the delivery of education, but has been quick to add a tax burden to the children’s parents, who are making sacrifices to ensure they get a proper education. By taxing those who provide lessons, that cost will be passed on to the children’s parents.

I am not against taxation. I am against poorly thought-out taxes and those designed to be punitive in the areas they ought not to be.  The two cases sighted above make the point. Taxing is necessary in every society, since there exists the need to source revenue to conduct the business of the State.  In looking at sourcing funding for developmental programmes, same must be done, but in a strategic manner, where revenue collection vis a vis loans and grants that can be acquired for the execution of these, be factored in.

The problem that confronts this country is that politicians believe they have all the answers to the challenges we face. This behaviour takes us back to the time when — as a matter of preserving the nation-state and the role of its people in it — they had to get together and prepare a National Development Strategy (NDS) to manage the affairs of State. Successive PPP/C governments on the eve of every election, placed snippets of the NDS into its manifestos, but never implemented any aspect of it.

Our political culture has become one where politicians believe they are the beginning and the end of everything. This is misplaced arrogance, which successive governments have engaged in.  They fail to recognise that we live in a representative democracy, where the political system requires the involvement of groups and individuals in the management and decision-making processes of the State that impact their well-being.

Our problem is one where every individual placed in a political office believes that he or she is a competent politician. They fail in understanding that politics is about people and people’s development and every programme must have a focus in developing the people’s well-being.

Taxing of condoms and education — and of goods and services of similar nature — becomes burdensome and will breathe discontent and other social ills, since they were not conceptualised and implemented with the desire to the ordinary man. If  the government had consulted with the citizenry on its new tax regime, they would have been presented solid proof of their anti-developmental stance. I merely cited a few reasons and know that others could add more. From this body of information, a caring government would have arrived at sane decisions.

From a political perspective, one wonders how can a government be consistently involved in acts that are consistently inimical to the well-being of people it is elected to represent and serve, yet at the same time repose confidence that it will offer itself again to serve, and can be re-elected.  As it was reported, when one minister was confronted about the array of taxes in this year’s budget, he said, he will not have to pay them and if the government loses, he will get a job in an international institution.

Herein lie the problems with our politics and some of those who seek office. Politics for them is a gravy train while they are in the seat, and opportunity to create a resume for employment in international institutions later. Guyana has a cadre of politicians not smitten by patriotism and taken up with what they can do for the nation and its people, but by how they will use the trappings of office and access to the people’s resources for self-serving ends.