The Tax Debacle
By Phill Boas
Rage seized Elat. It was beyond unjust. He had saved assiduously for his retirement, now every year he saw his savings dwindle. Bureaucrats and politicians took his savings for tax. His nest egg no longer large enough to support the lifestyle they had built, hung suspended in his mind feeling like a fierce hot angry fire. Then the final insult, income decreasing since his major operation, he received a tax bill for what was clearly more than 30% of his super and then when he withdrew the funds from his company account to pay the bill he found that he had to pay tax on the withdrawal. Elat saw red and then without a flicker of intention he saw much more.
The rage, the indignation the sanctimonious babblings of the prime minister and treasurer, all collided, smashing into his mind in his ranting fury, he shouted ‘greed, greed’ and felt himself spinning, falling, his sense of impotence and helplessness replaced by a surge of power and confidence such as he had never experienced before. Suddenly he realised, he would send no cheque. Pay no more outrageous taxes to people who cared nothing for him or his wife or their future.
The first challenge to his decision came from the tax office via his accountant and he explained that he simply would be paying no more tax until the politicians in Canberra and the bureaucrats took responsibility for showing some genuine concern for his plight. George his long-standing accountant tried unsuccessfully to get him to see the light, finally at his firm insistent request, let the matter rest. Over the next two months several attempts were made by the tax office to redeem the situation but no mail ever reached Elat. Whenever a letter reached the post office he ensured that it was destroyed before he ever saw it. He could do that now, from his home he could identify exactly any person or object that was intended to do him any kind of harm. The next occurrence was when an official court summons was sent.
Elat knew about it whilst it was being written and every attempt to post it failed, sometimes it turned blank sometimes it burned to a crisp on the officer’s desk. Finally the junior bureaucrat who was responsible for getting the summons sent refused to accept a legitimate order and was sent for counselling. The next time the order to send the summons was given the senior bureaucrat originating the order found his email erased. The tax office got annoyed at Elat and the Deputy Commissioner was called for advice, he issued an instruction that never got to its destination and then he found himself unable to speak and took a week off. A police officer managed to receive an instruction to collect and deliver the summons he was unable to approach the property and on seeing Elat down the street one day, attempted to deliver the summons in person. He passed out on the footpath and an ambulance was called to take him to hospital.
The whole matter might have ended there, with no further attempt to contact Elat, except a news reporter caught the story and insisted on doing some investigative reporting. It was, as it turned out, a huge mistake. He lost his job before the article he was planning even got started. A talkback announcer made a brief attempt to report the story but the stations legal department told him to desist.
It looked as though finally all was well.
“Elat”, his wife called, “ your tea is ready, “ Elat rolled over and woke up.
phillboas 
There seems to me to be several problems involved here. Firstly, taxation is power-based appropriation rationalised by reference to the need to finance social capital. Secondly, a great deal of the moneys thus appropriated is wasted. Thirdly, we do need the items of social capital provided for somehow. Fourthly, ‘the market’ is almost as unsafe a provider as government – something the libertarians don’t deal with adequately. What is the answer? Nothing on the horizon so far as I can see. However some mechanism which made public servants in service provision areas actually answerable to the recipients of those services, rather than to their departmental career line superiors might be a start. Alternately, career advancement depending on professional competence – a pattern that used to prevail – might also help. The importation of management efficiency criteria has gutted the delivery of many public service arenas. Regulatory agencies, corruption watch-dogs and such, are probably of minimal use. They (regularly) get taken over by those whom they are supposed to regulate, and become a further layer of entrenchment of the status quo. Thus ombudsmen in Australia have contributed little to combating the malaise of public life. Case studies and exposes are needed in bulk, with development of theoretical understanding running in tandem. There is for instance a great deal of data now available on how child protection agencies actually ‘kidnap’ children for foster care placements, destroying families without compunction, in order to ‘earn’ the (usually generous) per capita government funding. Meantime the juggernaut rolls on, robbing those with initiative and enterprise in order to sustain a multitude of mini-empires under the umbrella of government.
I would find it hard to disagree with any of your contentions. That is why I chose the format I have for expressing, what I imagine are the frustrations of many people. Elat is a simple man, he knows that the behaviour of seemingly responsible and proper people is somehow, just plain wrong. He recognises that they are entrapped in a system that provides little room for sensitivity, flexibility, or concern for the daily lives of ordinary folk. He is not a hardened revolutionary, nor a realist. His primary desire is to make a point and provide a delightfully absurd but emotionally satisfying solution, before managing his otherwise very ordinary day. Thanks for your comment.