Do you feel singled out, victimised? Has this democracy treated you unfairly? Are you one of only about three million Thais paying income tax? If so, raise your hand, because, blast it all, we should demand equality!
All men are created unequal. That's the reality of life. Some are born rich. Some are born poor. Some are born whole. Some are born handicapped. The virtue of democracy is its attempt to right these imbalances. This means, while life may be unfair, we humans can and should try to be fair with one another, as much as reality allows.
We should all be equal under the law. Hence, in the electoral system, one man (or woman) has one vote.
No person should have to crawl at the feet of another person. No person should receive preferential treatment, or get away with crime, because of their surname, title or bank account. Equality is not just a matter of constitutional law, it's also tied to cultural attitudes.
There are many inequalities in Thai society. Most have been well discussed, focusing on the plight of the poor. But here's one with a different spin _ the mistreatment of the middle class.
Thailand has a population of around 70 million. According to the National Statistics Office, the 20-and-over workforce comprises about 38 million people. But the Revenue Department only has approximately 10 million people registered to pay income tax. Of these, around 6.87 million do not have to pay because their annual income is less than 150,000 baht per year.
So that leaves a little more than three million people actually paying income tax. Some of us do not pay as high a percentage of our income as others, but at least we pay. If you're one of the three million who give 5% to 35% of your monthly paycheque for the greater glory of our beloved Kingdom of Thailand, please stand up for your rights and demand equality!
There are many problems with Thai democracy. For starters, when the system is not administered equally, how can we expect equality? How can our democracy be healthy?
The Revenue Department anounced plans to collect 1.7 trillion baht in income tax between October, 2012, and September, 2013 _ and that's from only a little more than three million people _ 8% of the workforce and 4% of the total population.
Equality means equality _ one man, one vote, that's how it should be. But here's the problem: One man sheds tears of pride at the end of every month seeing that 5% to 35% of his hard-earned money is contributing to the greater glory of the Kingdom. Another sheds tears of anger and sorrow upon hearing that the government plans to reduce the guaranteed rice paddy price from 15,000 baht a tonne to 12,000 baht. He breathes a sigh of relief when the government changes plans and continues to use tax money to subsidise rice at 15,000 baht per tonne.
As the saying goes, there are only two things certain in life: death and taxes.
Well, that's not entirely true in Thailand, not when it comes to income tax. The first man puts in his share and shoulders the burden. The second man doesn't put in his share and wants even more of the cake.
How is that for equality? But we shouldn't blame either man. We are all victims of a preferential system, a system that fosters an attitude of inequality.
That attitude supposes that perhaps one man should not equal one vote after all, since one man gives the country 5% to 35% of his income every month, while another pays no income tax and also receives tax money.
This is an argument I have heard many times, and I'm against it. In theory it makes sense. In practice it's a can of worms we do not want to open. This reflects a dangerous attitude that must be eradicated. And since it is the system of inequality that fosters such an attitude, then the system must be fixed.
To have a mature democracy, each and every one of us needs to take responsibility and be accountable. If the workforce is 38 million, then 38 million people should pay income tax (or perhaps no one should pay income tax at all). The tax rate should be proportionate to different income levels. Some might cry foul about making the poor pay income tax. But equality is equality and cannot be manipulated to suit certain people.
The 38 million workers of Thailand are all grown adults, not children who forever need babysitting. Treat them as children, and Thailand will never be able to compete in the world, let alone usher in a mature democracy where equality is actually administered, rather than just talked about.
That said, tasking all 38 million people in the workforce with income tax responsibility should not be a done with just a snap of the fingers. Rather, it should be administered along with programmes such as education reform, vocational training and nationwide salary reforms (going beyond the 300 baht minimum wage).
The poor need assistance every now and then; populist welfare and subsidy schemes are useful and needed from time to time. But they are not the driving forces of equality or prosperity; rather they are engines of a nanny state. Make them the exception, not the rule. Even if one argues for the necessity of subsidies, it must be admitted that more taxes could fund more subsidies.
Life is unfair. If there is any equality in this world it is because we have fought for it and earned it. And democracy, like equality, must also be earned.
Earning it doesn't mean just screaming and shouting in the streets. It means actually working, putting in your share and helping to shoulder the load.
There's a reason why children don't get to vote. The Thai people need to grow up. The Thai people need to be allowed to grow up. We shouldn't be forever needing babysitters. We need to earn our equality by growing up.
One man, one vote should not just be a matter of the law, but also the cultural attitude that we all share because we all invest in this country, in many ways, not least of which through income tax.
Make the law equal, and then let the law move cultural attitudes towards equality. We should all be stakeholders and shareholders in this Kingdom.
Contact Voranai Vanijaka via email at voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th.