NOBODY likes paying taxes. Every time a certain proportion of our income is deducted, there is a sense of loss. It is true that everyone pays indirect taxes, but there is no question that the salaried class is made to bear the disproportionate cost of keeping the wheels of government turning through their tax contributions.

The salaried class has always felt that it is being squeezed further, and argues that there are no tangible benefits coming its way. The other sectors in the economy, from pushcart vendors to industrialists, find ways not to pay taxes, both legal and otherwise.

No doubt, taxation is the financial backbone of democratic governance; without it no modern state can deliver on its social contract. Yet, the manner of its implementation has created deep alien-ation among the classes. The resentment is exacerbated by visible inefficiencies in public services.

Taxpayers navigate broken roads, send children to private schools, rely on private healthcare, and maintain private security. They have the right to wonder what exactly their tax money is funding.

Today, the problem is that the relatio-nship between people and the state in matters of taxation remains stuck in patterns and practices of the colonial era.

Tax officials behave less like public servants and more like modern-day collectors for the repressive crown. The silent message their attitude conveys is that taxation is actually not people’s contriution to nation-building, but is an indication of their submission to state.

Shafi Ahmed Khowaja
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2025