Dissent is not a taxable offence

Mar 12, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News- There is something undeniably Orwellian about the way our democratic experiment is being conducted. You see, democracy, as we were taught in school, is supposed to be a system in which the government serves the people, and not a system in which the government ensures that the people serve it, preferably with their heads bowed and their tax documents triple-checked for dissent.

The role of tax agencies is to collect taxes, ensure compliance, and occasionally induce heart palpitations in law-abiding citizens over minor paperwork infractions. It is, in essence, a necessary evil. But lately, there appears – and appearances can be deceiving – to be a rather peculiar shift in focus—an evolution, if you will. There appears to be now a curious interest in those who have committed the unforgivable sin of being perceived, by the government, as potential political rivals.

This newfound enthusiasm is, of course, entirely coincidental. Or so they will tell you.   Of course, coincidences do happen, don’t they? Just like how the authorities, in their infinite wisdom, always seem to accidentally stumble upon a tax error at the exact moment the unfortunate taxpayer is in the middle of a heated political dispute with the government. It’s almost magical—like the way the rain always seems to fall the minute you forget your umbrella.

Rest assured, there’s no malice here—just an astonishingly convenient alignment of the stars, an administrative “oops” that just so happens to arrive when the victim is already being pounded by the state’s hammer. Pure chance, of course!

Then there is the not-too-small matter of private tax information finding its way into the public domain, usually through means as mysterious as they are convenient. It is a remarkable phenomenon—almost as if certain files grow legs and wander their way into the public with an uncanny sense of timing.

Dissent is not a taxable offense. Criticizing the government does not automatically place an individual in a higher tax bracket, nor should it trigger an emergency tax audit. Taxation is a function of income, not ideology. The moment we allow the tax agencies to double as a political enforcer, we are no longer operating under a system of law, but rather one of calculated intimidation.

Everyone has the right to his or her views, and having an opinion—whether favorable or critical of the government—does not automatically entitle one to a tax audit. Democracy thrives on debate, disagreement, and the ability of citizens to challenge authority without fear of reprisal. If an individual’s biggest crime is expressing a political stance, then that is not an offense punishable by the law but rather a right enshrined in the country’s highest law.  The role of the tax agency is to ensure compliance with tax laws, not to act as an ideological gatekeeper deciding who deserves scrutiny and who does not.

Of course, we are told not to worry. This is not authoritarianism, they say, this is simply good governance. They would never dream of using the state as a weapon—perish the thought! And yet, the evidence mounts. We see communities treated as political fiefdoms, where certain parties feel as though they possess transport over entire villages. If you are not of the right political persuasion, you are advised—gently, of course, with all the tact of a sledgehammer—to stay away. In this new state of affairs, some neighborhoods are declared no-go zones for political rivals, lest the ruling party’s delicate sensibilities be offended by an alternative point of view.

But there is a broader concern that should frighten the nation. What we are witnessing is the slow, steady march toward elected authoritarianism, a system in which the government is technically chosen by the people but, once in power, behaves as though it must never be questioned. Elections, after all, are just a formality—an elaborate charade meant to confer legitimacy on what is, in practice, an unchallenged rule.

State agencies must resist the temptation to be used as hatchets against perceived and actual rivals.  Government agencies must not be lured into the temptation to be moonlighting as a political hit squad. But resistance to this descent into authoritarianism cannot rest solely on the shoulders of institutions. All Guyanese must push back against the notion that governance is an extension of party politics. We must reject the idea that state agencies exist to serve the ruling party, rather than the nation. We must resist, not just in whispered conversations and coded jokes, but in open defiance of any attempt to turn Guyana into a land where compliance is mandatory, dissent is a taxable offense, and political opposition is an audited liability.

(Dissent is not a taxable offence)

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• democratic experiment, entire villages, ideology, Peeping Tom, tax error

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