The tax man cometh
- responsible business -
A FEW nights ago, I was busy filling out my income tax return, which is due tomorrow, April 15. My son was asking me how much I have to pay, and why I even need to pay when the government isn’t using the money well. You see, my son, who’ll be 13 soon, is very much aware of what’s happening in the country, and knows about the ZTE-NBN scandal, the Piatco fiasco, and all the other events occurring on the political front.
So why pay taxes when there is much corruption? I have heard this line before. Someone indeed asked me a few years back why we have to pay the right taxes when it will just be misused anyway.
Well, what would happen if we don’t pay the right taxes? The teachers in public schools may not even get their meager salaries at all. Patients in government hospitals may not find one doctor or nurse to attend to them. The potholes in the roads may get big enough for cars to fall into. Traffic lights may get busted and not replaced, or worse, there won’t be any more policemen to direct traffic. Senior citizens in places like Golden Acres may have no more place to run to.
Some two thousand years ago, some men also asked Jesus, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” The Lord asked for a coin, showed them whose face was on it, then said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22: 17, 21).
So, do your duty and pay the right taxes. What happens to the taxes after we’ve remitted it is up to the government; the leaders will be held accountable for that.
