Friday, March 29, 2024

OUTSIDE THE PULPIT: Bajans ought to pay taxes

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And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. – Matthew 9:9-10.
We had our day last week with the tax office – like many taxpayers. Den Den and I went to the Inland Revenue Department like how Joseph and Mary went from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, to Judea to be taxed.
Taxation is nothing new; it was there from Bible time.
We were also at the office to be assisted with filing online because I cannot handle the computer and, at my age, I do not see it possible. While at the office I was a little scared because tax officers are very serious people in the true sense, with hardly a smile to be seen. However, there was no need to be afraid because I do not have much to be taxed and the officers are there to collect revenue for the Government. 
At the end of my exercise, I found the tax officer to be very nice, helpful and pleasant. I am sure that some taxpayers will be refunded while others will have to pay.
Being a tax officer is not an easy job. It can be hard and stressful because people do not like to pay taxes and yet they want handouts from Government. The only problem I have with online filing is that I do not have a copy of what was filed.
In the United States, income tax is a very serious thing there. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will go after you for every cent. They will go as far as your employer and have them deduct the taxes from your wages. One can even end up in prison for not paying taxes to the IRS.
Let us pay our taxes because Government cannot function without them.

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