Article 13 of the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen” states that we are all subject to a common tax, to maintain public force. As a result, the government is allowed to tax me and to take money whenever, and wherever I make a purchase. As it is my given duty to maintain the pockets of the sovereign, I could never imagine avoiding taxes with techniques such as laundering, or offshore bank accounts. Additionally, I could never imagine creating shell companies to hide said money. Article 14 states that every citizen has the right to see where their tax dollars are going. Obviously the tax dollars are going to the government! Considering the government is so large, it’s almost impossible to see where in the government your money is going to. It’s almost as if the government makes it hard for you to know: shocker. Is it going to the environment (probably not)? Is it going to someone’s pocket (who knows)? I ask you; do you know where your tax dollars are going?
Michael,
I don’t pay taxes but I think it would be pretty cool to see exactly what the tax is spent on. We all know that the tax is spent on stuff like public services but it would be nice to see exactly how much is spent on what. A cool example of this is from an article I read about how donors are more likely to donate more if they know exactly what the money is spent on such as if someone donates to a hospital and the hospital reports back that 72% of the money was spent on new machines.
Michael,
As an individual who has paid taxes, I hate to say it, but I don’t know where my tax dollars are going. I have looked at the sheet that tells me where they’re going, but I skimmed and didn’t truly look into it more. I know that some of them go into public works, but the rest is kind of a mystery (I mean its not really that much of a mystery because I’ve been given the sheet before) but it is still kind of a mystery to me. Therefore, I believe that article 14 is kind of followed through because the government gives us the ability to see, but we don’t always take advantage of that.