An exercise in nation-building?

Taxes build nations, so to say, right?

Quite (in)appropriate that I'm writing this with only a couple of weeks to go before the India Budget 2008. But that wasn't what prompted me to write about this, than the condition of Luz Church Road that I was witness to, earlier this evening.

Now, I'm someone who pays my taxes quite cheerfully, althoguh, like the next man, I make use of as many tax exemptions (I should also mention deductions, as my pedantic tax colleagues would point out!) as available and possible. But look at the condition of the said road... they're putting in a divider that's a couple of meters wide (wonder why you need such a large divider!). Workers have left for the day, leaving debris and cables (don't know if they are telephone or electricity) around. Thank God they took their work-tools with them. This got me started thinking about various so called "public service" initiatives that governments undertake, which are funded by our tax payments.

Just look at the various expenses that our taxes end up funding... politicians' and other mandarins' salaries, foreign travel, constituency allowances, free local travel, spending money, what not. And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg as far as income sources are concerned. We've not yet spoken about all the money received under the table (or in suitcases, where the table isn't relatively large enough) or other means. I can't understand what they have to spend so much on? They're probably locked up in large safe deposit vaults (given that some kinds of funds cannot be banked).

For a very long time, I've been saying that public facilities in India are relatively (given that we are still "developing") comparable with those in "developed" countries. I think its now time to change that opinion of mine. I've seen construction work in other countries, and the best part is that most of the time, one never knows that any work is actually happening! Public services are rarely affected, and where they are, the governments take real good care of the tax-paying public by arranging convenient alternatives. Plus all this is with prior information, which is something we just cannot expect in India.

So I go back to the original point on tax paying and that tax payments contribute to nation-building. Now I have new-found respect for tax evaders! My personal wishes, Mr Finance Minister.