Some time ago a property tax notice showed up in our mail. It was an exorbitant sum that needed to be paid urgently. My parents-in-law have over the years made sure that they do everything it takes to abide law. But this sudden notice was a bit unsettling for them.
We decided to ask around for advice on what to do about it. There was a suggestion that we bribe our way to a settlement that ensured no further property tax ever. There was another suggestion to ignore the notice since the government had done little development in the area anyway. The gentleman said that he even paid for the electricity pole for his house from his pocket and to avoid further tax notices from a corrupt, irresponsible and wretched government, he had gotten his house registered as two small houses which fell under the No Tax bracket!
When we asked around if we could apply for the sum to be paid in installments, we were told that the government office staff is incredibly rude, bureaucratic and corrupt and chances are that we would be making several trips to the offices all asking us to go through a really convoluted process that will make us regret our very nationality!
Nevertheless, my folks decided to give it a shot. That is getting the sum chopped into installments. This was a feat that required great courage. Since my in laws have been through the ‘incredible experience’ at other government offices which we were now being warned about. Anyone who is familiar with the Pakistani government office system will know what I mean.
However, to their surprise, they met a very competent and cooperative officer at the Revenue Office. He thanked them for coming and explained that the sum was exorbitant because they had not been paying the tax for six years since they moved to this place.
When he was told that this was the first notice ever served, he took responsibility of his department’s negligence and agreed to chop the payment into installments. He also informed them of dates by which full payments receive tax rebates. The property tax he explained paid for making and repairing the sewage pipes underneath our locality, without which our neighborhood would be a filthy swamp of refuse and stench.
When he was told that no Water Tax notices ever came either, he made a note of it and told my folks the sum (which was paltry for the amount of water we use in a year) that they would be paying every year from now. My folks readily agreed and returned thanking him. They were expecting him to demand his ‘Commission’ for making their trip productive and running around in various departments to get the installments process expedited. Yet he claimed nothing for himself.
The incident brought a realization that if one earnestly intends to follow the appropriate way, things smooth out most of the time. There is an Urdu saying ‘Niyaat Saaf, Manzil Aasaan’ which translates roughly to ‘Clean Intent, Easy Destination’. How life treats us really depends on what we intend to give in a situation.
It’s common in Pakistan to blame the government for not providing basic amenities that Pakistani expatriates avail of so effortlessly. And yet, bribery, tax evasion and shortcuts by citizens in Pakistan are rampant.
There is a price to pay for availing of bounties. Consider this. To ensure that your teeth remain strong, healthy and disease-free, you would need to brush them twice daily, use floss and mouth wash regularly.
Tooth paste, tooth brush, floss and mouth wash. These are the prices you have to pay if all is well. If you do not give your body the due you owe it, the price will rise higher and higher with time. Eventually, if you keep evading the price, you will land up in the dentist’s chair and pay an exorbitant sum for a cavity filling, a root canal or a complete denture. If you still decide to forego this essential payment, chances are that you are compromising on what you can eat. Diet deficiency leads to serious disease. And if you still don’t care enough, the price will now shift onto others for its scale. Your family might end up paying for your hospitalization and so on. There then comes a time when no matter what price you are willing to pay, you cannot afford to have things as you want them.
Same goes for a society.
One stolen electricity connection means a higher per unit cost for the rest of the people. The higher the price for electricity, the higher the input cost in factories making items everyone uses; the electricity thief included.
In Pakistan, a nation of 180 million people, the tax revenue collected is only 10% of the GDP, which is one of the lowest in the region. An estimated 796 billion rupees worth of tax was evaded in 2007 – 2008. Additionally, out of a population of 180 million, there are 2.7 million commercial and business establishments which are registered as being able to pay tax. Out of these only 685,000 pay tax! And there is no data to say how many individuals are actually claiming to be unable to pay tax in the first place. Tax evasion in Pakistan is a colossal menace. And it stems down to an individual’s selfish intent.
Maturity requires that a citizen gives what is due to the society. A body of individuals that act appropriately by giving what is due to the society make up a benevolent society. A society that emphasizes on its duties more than its rights is mature and driven towards benevolence whereas a society that emphasizes on its rights more than its duties is driven towards malevolence and selfishness. This simply means that in a given situation, a citizen must see what he can give as duty rather than what he can take as a right.
Little wonder then that in Pakistan one often hears entrepreneurs say that in order to manage a profitable business in this country, one has to compromise on one’s values.
Is it pure coincidence then, that a nation with so many individual and commercial tax evaders is being ruled by a leader who is facing allegations of misappropriation worth billions of dollars?
Consider the price that is rising with each minute of inappropriateness.
photo credit: Philip Taylor PT, Dunechaser, and stevendepolo
Comments
3 responses to “Appropriate Citizenship”
This is true both as a general observation and in the Pakistani context in particular. When Telenor started trading in the Pakistani market 4 years ago there were many predictions that they would fail, principally because the refused to do anything underhand. They would have equipment held at port when their competitor’s equipment came through unimpeded because Telenor refused to bribe customs officials. Today Telenor is on it’s way to being Pakistan’s biggest mobile phone company.
This article was the result of a discussion with Fakhir Shah on “Every amenity has a price”.
Thank you for your comments Etsko. I hope to write about Telenor’s work ethics soon!
Very nice article, and needed for the times, too.
One of underlying insights here is that one must trust the world they abide.
My experience with government officers and otherwise stereotypically termed ‘uncooperative, corrupt’ people is similar to this. Being by-the-book by nature, I generally could not think along the lines of a ‘back door method’ to get things done. So I approached the right person, and they are usually *thrilled* that someone actually trusts them and asks them to do things the proper way.
The cacophony over rights is so loud, it is drowning our relations as humans.