"Individuals and businesses not paying the tax they should deprives the government of the funding it needs to provide vital public services and investment in areas such as schools, hospitals and roads."
I cut and paste this one sentence, lifted from a BBC News story about ex England footballer John Barnes being banned as a company director for three years. John Barnes, a wonderfully erudite spokesperson on racism but the tax man has got him.
Now for a man of my hairstyle and kidneys I have a very naive view of paying tax. I don't agree with it or rather I don't agree with the sledgehammer to crack a nut way that they are extracted from us. They are couched in terms that the guardians of the public purse can do what they like with the taxes extracted at source in income tax to fund the Israeli genocide in Gaza. They can tell us that they are going on roads, schools, hospitals but we just don't know. They could be going anywhere. They could be going to subsidise the lavish lifestyles of benefit scroungers 'God forbid' or they could be going to fund the Rwandan Airlift of small boats crossing the English Channel. A loud huzzah emanates from within the ranks of the St George's "We will take are country back by hitting horses on the nose brigade".
Fuck! We are in such a mess after 9/11, 7/7, Brexit, Covid Pandemic Lockdown, Israeli Genocide of Palestine that if we get out for a bit of fresh air for an hour then we should consider ourselves grateful because we are Prisoners of His Majesty's Tax System. Like prisoners in lock up, it's often 23 hours in your cell with one hour walking around outside in a walled quadrangle. You can't work from home now, you've got to pay for an overpriced latte and croissant on your way into the centre of a town or city for sitting in meetings under artificial lights with your soul dying inside but "I miss my cat". Tough titty baby, you gorra work to pay your taxes to make this country run like the shit tip it is.
As a former, reformed benefit scrounger who still doesn't work on 'conscientious grounds' I cannot allow this pay first die later society to get to me and get me so I hide a lot. I avoid the outside world as much as I can by writing blogs and by being as much of a useless member of society as I can.
Give MP's the 'living wage' and then see how many of them will put themselves forward to represent us. Strip the King of his many palaces and perks and then see whether he thinks it's still worth his while to be our monarch.
We are funding Britain's backing of Israel who is hell bent on traumatising toddlers. If I did pay tax I would want my tax to be ring fenced to support brave students who are protesting the Israeli horrors in Palestine. But what about October 7th?
As I say I have a very naive view of paying tax. It is a control mechanism by government. It is a divide and conquer tactic by government. They know that if people weren't forced to pay tax then they wouldn't voluntarily pay it because of the land grab, selfish gene in all of us which prioritises getting planning permission and building an extension and fuck the neighbours. You know, exactly what the Israelis are doing.
I apologise if I have not come up with any concrete solutions apart from 'ring fencing' the tax that we pay.
Was Benjamin Franklin actually correct when he said "In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes"?
I don't think he was.
What do you think?
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