Why Qatar needs taxes
I’m not going insane. It’s something I’ve always wanted to talk about and a commenter on the “Qataris are Rich – The Myth” post had touched on taxes and brought this back on my mind.
I don’t want to be taxed like crazy (like how the UK does to its people) but maybe a slight tax would be a good thing. (I’m talking about income tax and none of that VAT stupidity!)
Imagine if Qatar taxed citizens 1-2% of their salary for example.
1) That should be enough to beautify the country, parks, water systems, lights, etc…
2) People would demand that the country does something with their tax money
3) People would start conciously thinking of their financial status
The government should also provide tax breaks.
1) If you build a garden or put grass outside of your house, you get a 50% tax break (this forces people to beautify Qatar to avoid paying tax)
2) If your organization (or even your household) does something charitable, you get a tax break
If you think about it, Qatar is the ‘perfect’ country to have tax.
1) The taxes aren’t ‘needed’ by the government, which means that it should remain stable.
2) The tax money they generate would be considered a ‘bonus’
Who can give me their views on tax? Good? Bad? If you think it’s good, explain why? Remember, don’t just think of the economic impact, think of society, psychology, bureaucracy, etc..
David said,
Wrote on May 27, 2010 @ 4:24 pm
Well done for broaching the subject. A few quick thoughts.
1) Eventually, you’ll have to have ‘real’ taxes i.e. a damn sight more than 1-2%. But, you’re right, you’ll need to start off small.
2) There is an adage about all this: ‘no taxation means/for no representation.’ I.e. as long as people don’t pay taxes, not having a vote is not so much a problem; However, when you start taxing people…
3) Taxes (or bills, rather) are absolutely CRUCIAL if people are ever going to learn ‘the value of money’. People will continue to splurge insane amounts of money on Hummers etc (debt levels, as was mentioned before…) or leave lights on, water running, if there is no ‘come-back’; no cost. [Agreeing with your point 3]
4) You really want to encourage people living in what is a desertified part of the world to plant more lawns?!
5) Perhaps a 1% tax on peoples’ incomes over, say, £30,000 per year which gets put into a humanitarian assistance pot, or something like that.
Kei said,
Wrote on May 27, 2010 @ 4:27 pm
awesome points.
Re/ 4, not necessarily lawns, but trees and bushes at least.
I believe that if there are more plants in Qatar, it could significantly reduce the amount of dust in the country (and I’m just guessing here since I have no scientific evidence), reduce the avg temperature.
Susan Hope Rodefer said,
Wrote on May 27, 2010 @ 10:03 pm
I whole-heartedly agree. Taxes would definitely encourage more mindful spending and awareness of finances among the citizens.
I also think that taxation would help foster stronger civic responsibility among the citizenry here. I think Qataris are already (rightly) proud of their country, but I think they could have a stronger sense of responsibility for the betterment of their society.
I’m also a big fan of countries having a national service program — not necessarily military, but some sort of obligatory service that requires young people to give back to their country in some meaningful way. Teaching, charity work, environmental service, agricultural and, yes, military service — all useful ways that citizens can contribute towards their country.
This would be especially useful here in Qatar because I think people automatically reach for their wallets when asked to help. Not that that isn’t useful — of course it is. But giving money only provides an initial sense of having contributed towards something; it is short-lived. When you give of your time and effort, your sweat and energy, you strengthen the sense of community and you encourage people to connect with one another. And you create a habit of service that will hopefully last throughout the person’s life.
So I think Qatar should consider national service as well.
Ahmad said,
Wrote on May 29, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
People here don’t understand the concept of taxes. To them it’s just a way for the government to “steal” money from them. I agree with you that we need taxes. But if the government started collecting taxes and spending them on things that I don’t want my money to be spent one, then people will start questioning the government.
this will open eyes on things and the government in our country doesn’t like people to open their eyes.
shower them with money and keep’em quiet is the way to go :\
Ali said,
Wrote on May 31, 2010 @ 2:09 pm
I am not so sure that Taxes are a good idea. Mainly for the following reason, upon raising taxes prices, rents etc will rise as well. This will add the the already exiting inflation in the country.
Michael said,
Wrote on June 2, 2010 @ 4:14 pm
I am of the opinion that the reason the government doesn’t tax citizens is because they are afraid that it WILL lead to citizens wanting a meaningful say in how the money is spent.
If you start taxing citizens, you will need meaningful, democratic bodies to administer the way the revenue is spent. And we all know that this would really upset a certain family who currently enjoy making all the decisions.
I also can’t really see that your argument that the tax revenue could be used for parks, general beautification projects, maintenance of public roads, etc is a particularly strong one. If this government has the money to throw around on pet projects, a new airport, Aspire, the Islamic Museum, while going on a shopping spree globally to buy anything they can get their hands on, then it’s pretty clear the government ALREADY has the money to be spent on fixing roads and lighting.
This is a government too feeble to make citizens pay for water and electricity, which has resulted in a massive waste of both, leading to shortages and embarrassing infrastructure development.
And since most citizens seem to work for the government, or government affiliated bodies, taxing citizens would just seem to be pushing the same money around; the government giving it on one hand, and taking it back on the other.
If you think this country wants, needs or deserves democracy, then taxation would be the first thing to provoke it. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Carl said,
Wrote on August 18, 2010 @ 2:00 pm
Here in sweden i pay 30% of my salary in taxes… I think this is insanity. And thats not all, we also have so called VAT taxes, additional taxes on houses, cars etc. I think your suggestion, a 1% tax is a good idea.