Monrovia – Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh, Liberia’s internationally renowned Professor of Economics, has said emphatically that the best way to get adequate revenues for the government of Liberia is to end rampant corruption rather than increase taxes.
Professor Tipoteh made this Statement when he was responding to some journalists who wanted to know about the impact of the present wave of government taxation that led to the closure of stores and market places, as the Patriotic Entrepreneurs of Liberia (PATEL) carried on an Anti-Taxation Campaign.
Dr. Tipoteh observed that in the midst of rampant corruption, the wrong way to raise revenue is to tax business and therefore people, especially poor people.
He said that this is the wrong way because the increased taxes will be exactly what will make the revenue generation situation worse, as corrupt State Managers, now State Vampires, need more revenue for themselves to live and grow.
According to Dr. Tipoteh, the increased taxes are like blood for the vampire that the President of Liberia referred to in her 2015 annual message to the Legislature when she said that corruption has got out of hand and has become a vampire and, as we know, vampire need blood to live and grow.
In her 2017 Annual Message, Dr Tipoteh recalled that the President admitted again that corruption remains an increasingly vexing problem, as her Administration winds down to its end.
Professor Tipoteh reminded us all that Good Governance in Liberia calls for taking those decisions/actions that can reduce rather than increase mass poverty in Liberia.
In the view of Dr. Tipoteh, more taxation in the face of mass poverty not only increases poverty, as prices increase and unemployment rises, but violence-oriented frustration, especially among poor youth rises, thereby rendering the national security situation more fragile.
Finally, Dr. Tipoteh concluded that stopping corruption and preventing increased taxation as the way to raise more revenue are in the hands of the government.
Therefore, Professor Tipoteh insists that if the government does not stop rampant corruption and proceeds to continue with higher taxes, the government will have itself to blame for the worsening of the economy and the national security situation.
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