THE government often laments that people are not willing to pay their taxes. What it fails to understand is the simple fact that it is not the taxes that cause pain to the people; it is the dysfunctional government machinery which is the main factor spreading despondency.

We pay a significant amount in taxes just to know that the country has been racing backwards every day in the global economic race. We come to know that the dollar has risen to record high. The power tariff has gone up. The prices of even lifesaving drugs are out of the reach of most people. Construction in the country has decreased by 60 per cent. The state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has posted a seriously massive decline in profit.

The infrastructure issues are not taken care of. Healthcare is in the doldrums. The education sector is nothing to write home about. The law and order situation is unbearably bad. The overall security environment is depressing. And the national economy has all but tanked. All this is what hurts the taxpayers; not the taxes.

It should worry us that India has reached the moon, while we, the miserable souls, are struggling to settle and survive on Earth. The fact that such things do not worry us, is what hurts the taxpayers; not the taxes.

Shahzad Ali Channa
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2023