They’ve been around forever. They lay in the shadows, waiting for you to find financial success. Around every bend, they eagerly wait for the sniff of monetary gain. For when they latch on to the smell of hard-earned money, they do not hesitate to go in for a piece of the pie. I’m talking about taxes.

There’s very little way to avoid them completely. At the end of the day, they are considered by most to be one of the few guarantees in life. My question is, why do people fear them? Have we lost sight of their actual purpose?

We live in a country full of opportunities. We have a well-functioning health care system that provides adequate care to most people who need it. We have a relatively functional education system that offers educational services to the majority of individuals. There are many public infrastructure projects that are currently being undertaken across Australia that will ultimately better us as a society.

So, I pose the question again, where do our taxes go? They go to the items listed above. Granted the items I listed above don’t encompass all the spending habits of the Government. Other uses of our taxes include spending on national defence, emergency response funds for natural disasters, and campaigns to address societal issues such as domestic violence.

The question we must ponder when complaining about the taxes we pay, is would we rather pay no tax but have no healthcare, no public schools, no public infrastructure? Would we rather our wonderful nation takes a massive step backward all in the name of keeping a few extra dollars?

Let’s be real, no one likes paying taxes… I’ve never met anyone who has said they’d like to pay more tax. But we take for granted where this money goes. We take for granted what our taxes pay for. The next time you or someone you know complains about having to pay “so much tax”, take a second to remind yourself where the money is going. Our taxes help ensure that we as Australian’s are provided the opportunity to thrive and continue living comfortable lives in this great country.

Written for you by Baylee Jones