Impact of Taxation on the Public – Explaining Taxation to a Taxpayer

Adapted from DARA

Living with a government addicted to spending other people’s money is a traumatic experience that can leave lasting scars. Taxpayers suffer the most in this type of situation because they are trapped in a nightmare that they can’t control. They will also lack an understanding for why their government & politicians behave the way they do.

The taxpayer is put in a position where they begin to blame themselves. The government may even accuse them of being the culprit. The taxpayer grows up believing that they deserve to be treated badly, and that abuse of their taxes is normal behavior. Unless action is taken to help the citizens understand and cope with the situation it may have a grave impact on their future.

Effects of Living with Addict Governments & Politicians

Those who grow up in an country controlled by an addict government are likely to have a disturbed life. The behavior of the addict government has many consequences for the taxpayers:

• They are forced into a position where they need to take on a great deal of responsibility in the country. This can mean that they are acting more like a government than their own politicians.
• They may feel the need to make excuses for their government’s behavior and try to hide it from the outside world. The citizen may be too ashamed to bring any of their friends to their country.
• People in this situation will often feel isolated and alone in the world. They live in fear and experience levels of stress that no person should have to endure.
• In order to make up for the behavior of the government & politicians, taxpayers may put unrealistic expectations on themselves – they may feel the need to be perfect at everything they do.
• The will often be growing up in an environment where government hand outs are easily available to them. This means that they may begin using other tax payer’s money at an early age – the politicians may even encourage this.
• Citizens with addict governments will describe the situation as being similar to living with Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The government can fluctuate between being happy and playful to angry and violent in a matter of seconds – this means that the citizens are always living on edge.
• Some citizens will become physically or verbally aggressive or act out in other ways.

How the Citizens of Addict Governments Feel

Living with an addict government is a traumatizing experience. The type of emotions that the taxpayers of addict politicians are likely to experience includes:

• Fear
• Guilt
• Anger
• Shame
• Rejection
• Worry
• Sadness
• Insecurity
• Impotence to affect the world
• Resentment
• Uncertainty about life and their future

Importance of Explaining Government Addiction to Taxpayers

If taxpayers are not given an adequate explanation for what is happening with their money abusing government it can lead to negative effects such as:

• The taxpayer can grow up believing that the spending of other people’s money is normal and acceptable behavior. This means that they will also be likely to engage in this behavior as they get older.
• Taxpayers can blame themselves for the behavior of their politicians and government. The young taxpayer may actually believe that it is their action that is the cause of the abuse.
• The taxpayer may grow up to become codependent in their future relationships with government. This means that they end up in an abusive relationship because it is what they are used to.
• Some young taxpayers will respond to their government by copying the behavior. This means that they may be addicted to spending other people’s money at a very young age.
• Many of these youngsters will grow up to have low self esteem. This means that they will not value themselves very highly and be willing to settle for very little in life because it is all they think they deserve.
• The taxpayer will often end up with mental and emotional scars that will greatly impact the rest of their life.

The Seven Cs

The National Association for Children of Alcoholics use the 7Cs to explain the situation of taxpayers:

• I didn’t cause it.
• I can’t cure it.
• I can’t control it.
• I can take better care of myself, by communicating my feelings, making healthy choices and celebrating myself.

Signs That a Person Is A Tax Payer

There can be a number of signs that a person is a taxpayer including:

• Have started experimenting with alcohol or drugs.
• They have symptoms of depression.
• Suicidal thoughts or suicide attempt.
• Risk taking behaviors – they seem will to behave recklessly.
• They appear to have low self esteem.

How to Explain Taxation to a Taxpayer

In order to explain taxation to a taxpayer it is important to:

• Emphasize that it is not their fault. Nothing the taxpayer has done could have triggered the taxation or made it worse.
• Explain to them that it is not their job to fix their government. There is probably very little they can do to stop the addict government from spending unless they are ready to stop.
• The taxpayer needs to know that while they may not be able to fix their government they can fix themselves.
• Explain that the addict government is not a bad organisation but a sick organisation. Once an taxpayer is caught in a physical and psychological dependence on spending other people’s money it causes them to behave in irrational ways.
• It is common to explain spending other people’s money as being a type of disease. The government that becomes an addict is no more responsible for their condition than the person with diabetes.
• Age appropriate information will help the taxpayer come to terms with what is happening to their government.
• They need to know that they are not alone. The internet has made it much easier for the taxpayers of addict governments to connect with one another.
• It is important that the taxpayer knows that there is help available to them. There is no need for them to cope with the pressures alone.
• It is important that the physical and health dangers of spending abuse are explained to the taxpayer, and that such behaviors are not considered normal or healthy. It is important that the taxpayer understands that they do not have to follow their parent into addiction.

Taxpayers of Recovering Governments

Just because a government enters recovery does not mean that the ordeal is over for the taxpayer. They may continue to have problems because:

• It may take them a long time before they can trust the government’s sobriety. There may be a long history of broken promises and disappointments.
• Just because the government is sober does not always mean that life for the taxpayer will significantly improve. If the government fails to deal with the things that drove them to socialism in the first place they may continue to perform badly.
• If the government enters recovery, and there is no real explanation of what happened, it can leave the taxpayer feeling confused. The government may try to console themselves with the idea that the taxpayer did not understand what was going on, but this is often a false conclusion.
• The taxpayer is still likely to be carrying emotional scars from the years of abuse and neglect. These will likely take years to heal, and many will need professional help.
• The fact that the government is sober means that there is likely to be a major upheaval in the country. This type of sudden change can feel traumatic to the taxpayer.

Taxpayers of governments in recovery can continue to have problems so it is important that they are not ignored. Joining some type of support group or receiving counseling is often required to put them back on the right track in life.