Why Should I Pay More Tax?

by Eleanor Matthews

Tax is a large point of interest in the coming election, and many people are not interested in giving any more of their money away. However, with increasing budget cuts within necessary services in the UK, such as the NHS, the consequences of refusing to increase taxes will be felt.

It is important to increase tax as government-funded projects such as help for homeless people and some counselling services that are not seen as completely necessary have been cut. These cuts have led to a large increase in homelessness which is often caused by mental health issues or addiction. 

Furthermore, paying more tax may be especially important now as the police will need more training and equipment and employees to try and combat the terror attacks that are becoming more and more frequent.

It seems counterintuitive to vote to pay more tax; however, studies have shown that crime rates decrease when taxpayers pay more. It can also help students and young people who will be able to further their education without huge university debt building up and hanging over them for a large proportion of their lives.

We should not be scared to pay more tax as we are far down the list of countries who pay the most tax. Norway is considered the happiest country (taking into account many factors from wages to quality of life) and they are also one of the highest-paying countries with regard to tax, showing that it may make this country a nicer place for everyone overall.

Despite all these arguments, I do not think it is a good idea to suddenly implement huge taxes as many people would have to drastically change their spending habits which without preparation would be hard, especially for people earning less. However, if the increase happened over a longer period of time with government increasing the tax a little each year up to a certain point I think the country would be greatly helped.

In conclusion, we should try not to be selfish voters; instead, we should consider how our choices would affect others in the community Although ultimately the choice is what we think is best and we can't help but vote for what we want for ourselves.