SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
Posted: 19 July 2015
Pic: "Metro police officers arrested and charged with corruption and bribery.” Photo: Flickr.com / Keith Allison
Greece’s economic woes and some citizens’ apparent unwillingness to face reality have been well documented. In a nutshell, according to recent newspaper articles, there are too many people benefitting from social handouts and too few paying taxes. There are also, it’s reported, taxpayers not contributing their full shares – in other words, deliberate evasion.
Tax avoidance, where a taxpayer has a lawful reason for not paying what he or she doesn’t need to, is one thing but evasion, by which one deliberately does not pay (all) one’s dues, is another. It’s illegal.
There are some parallels between Greece and South Africa. Out of a population of 51 million, we have 21 million economically active participants, of whom 15 million are actually employed. Sixteen million receive social grants (Statistics SA report dated 26 May 2015).
Of those economically active, only six million earn enough to pay income taxes although all pay fringe duties such as VAT. That seems to mirror Greece’s problem; too many beneficiaries of social handouts, paid for by too few taxpayers, with too many of those guilty of some form of avoidance.
Could we, as ordinary motorists, possibly fall into that last category? Consider this: It’s well known that there are many bent traffic cops and state officials out there. The numbers are probably exaggerated, but let’s assume the old 80:20 rule and say that only one-fifth of all guardians of our motorways, byways and traffic administration are crooked.
That suggests that up to 20 percent of traffic departments’ potential revenues (valid and legal forms of taxation) are diverted into Officer Slimy’s hamburger-and-juice fund. He or she definitely does not declare that unofficial income nor pay taxes on it, and by buying into that practice we are guilty of both bribery and tax evasion.
If we knowingly or negligently drove too fast, skipped the stop street, crossed the barrier line or did whatever else, we should face the music.
An obvious consequence, of not paying what we should, is that money is actively stolen from government coffers. Those funds have to be replaced via higher taxes, more tolls and increased fuel levies. We’re doubly penalised because there is insufficient money to pay for road maintenance, proactive policing of moving violations other than speeding, or effective supervision to root out crooked employees in the first place.
That means that those who drive dangerous rattle-traps, ignore basic road rules and contribute to the general culture of lawlessness are too seldom brought to book. So yet more will die on our roads – simply because some of us are tax evaders.
END
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8