Democracy is the rule of the majority, where people select their preferred leadership and have supreme powers to decide the form of governance they desire from their leaders. The management is directly exercised by the citizens or through their elected representatives. Tax is the compulsory revenue levied on citizens by governments through wages, trade, and essential commodities. Democracy will not survive if little or no taxes are paid by the majority of the citizenry. The reason being, governments' most significant source of revenue is through taxation of its citizens, which enables the delivery of services that guarantees democracy. Failure to pay adequate taxes would collapse both the economy and the government, and democracy would be unattainable. People have to work and pay taxes for the smooth running of the state.
Paying taxes to the government has a lot of positive impacts both to the individuals and the government (Becker, 2017). The benefits of taxation include the ability of governments to maintain and improve infrastructures. A functioning and modern infrastructure system assure citizens of better transportation, improved industrialization, and housing facilities, which is a boost to the economy and their livelihoods. Taxes also enable the establishment of a reserve fund that comes in handy when citizens encounter natural calamities such as extreme weather phenomena, earthquakes, and fire tragedies. Besides, paying taxes gives citizens other benefits such as education and medical health coverage. All these services, enjoyed in a democratic system, can only be realized in a system that pools funds to ensure every citizen enjoys essential services regardless of their social class. Taxation is, arguably, the most viable option that guarantees democracy. Citizens need to understand that for them to benefit from the government, they have to incur the costs through the payment of taxes.
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However, as much as it is recommendable and also a must for all the citizens to pay taxes, they should be charged based on their income. For instance , people with a higher income should be taxed at a higher percentage and given fewer tax breaks than persons who earn dismally (Ingles, 2015) . Such a mode of taxation would help the economy by providing people with lower income more tax breaks and allowing them to direct more funds towards the growth of the economy. Moreover, if citizens do not pay taxes or rather demand for more tax breaks, then the collective impacts of failing to pay taxes will occur. An example of the implications of not paying taxes is that the economy of the country will deteriorate. The deterioration shall arise due to inadequate funds to set up systems that facilitate sectors such as trade, education, justice, and a healthy population.
As much as citizens may prefer lesser or total elimination of taxation, consequences of bankrupt government are dire and regrettable. The most fundamental characteristic of a democratic entity is the ability of the region to conduct elections or perform the constituted mode of selection of its leadership. The leadership of the region is then mandated to oversee and represent its citizens in ensuring they enjoy their democratic rights. With inadequate or lack of taxation, the most basic form of election and selection of leadership would be unattainable. The absence of democratically elected leadership shall form the first failed hurdle in the democracy journey.
To sum up, governments need to establish laws that ensure compulsory and equity in taxation. Adequate taxation would guarantee the establishment of democratic elections and selection models. Democratic leadership would then guide its people in ensuring that social amenities and basic needs are equally distributed to its citizens. With little or no taxes, the democracy of a state shall be out of reach.
References
Becker, G. S. (2017). Economic theory . Routledge.
Ingles, D. (2015). Should Capital Income Be Taxed? And If so, How? SSRN Electronic Journal . https://doi.10.2139/ssrn.2664385
