By David Wanjala
Many people reckon that they had put in place what they wanted to achieve in 2016 but so far, there is little to show. We make resolutions year in year out: of clearing all debts, getting married, paying outstanding land rates, or even building a house, but end up not even achieving half of them, and in the unlikely turn that we manage to pull through, we wonder how we made it.
This gives us more reasons to state our resolutions; primary objective of resolutions is to ensure that you realise your dreams. If you can make most of your decisions based on these resolutions the better. Have you been asking yourself how effective declarations are?
As the new year begins, it is better to get the answers to challenges that made you not be where you wanted to be. Most Kenyans are economically burdened. In fact, what the majority want to achieve has remained a remote. With formal sector on one side and the informal sector on the other, the economic trends are down there, looking bad.
According to the Institute of Economic Affairs, the informal sector refers to a section of the economy that encompasses all jobs not recognized as normal income sources, and on which taxes are always not paid. It employs over 80% of the country’s working population. This is not something new – most developing countries share the same, a case where the informal sector accounts for nearly half of the bulk of economic activity.
Very sadly true is that individuals in the informal sector always fail to comply with any regulations, are not banked, they pay their bills in cash, and are also known to not pay income tax. By any measure, taxation is good for governments as that is where money for healthcare, transport systems, infrastructure development as well as welfare, come from.
The mega projects that the government is launching and commissioning are not only promising billions of shillings but also jobs. Bad news is that we rarely stem lack of employment especially for the youth after these projects are complete. It is easy to speculate why this is so; trends, as earlier said, indicate that those who thrive from informal sector rarely pay taxes It seems that the rise, and rise of informal sector is not healthy for the formal sector.
Unknown to many (both from the formal and the informal sector) is that paying taxes is the answer to challenges facing the government and Kenyans in general. That is why something about taxes should spring up on your list of New Year resolutions. When you fail to pay taxes, the government gets it tough providing necessary services.
Once the issue of tax is among your resolutions, next step is implementation. That is when they have meaning. If you failed to do some things last year, open a fresh page and make a difference this year. Don’t let last year’s failures ruin the beauty of the New Year, since each has its own fare share of gains and lessons.
