Some of those who voted YES had this to say:
• Definitely yes and we should collectively and unitedly say no to illegal tax collection
• Yes. Tax collection is a chain reaction, at the end which the public has to pay through each and every shop we enter @ upto 50% “above mrp.”
• When taxation is rampant from needle to the air we breathe, it is no doubt a hindrance to Development! What if we get sovereignty sans economic and social security?
• The tax collection by various bodies is taxing only the local population as we have to pay higher prices on all items bought whereas the business communities, although, they pay all sorts of taxes, do not suffer loss as they adjust the taxes paid by raising the prices on all items sold. But Who cares for us?
• Of course & definitely its going to kill my business!
• Tax collection effect dev. to reduce the quality or standard of the work done and also disturbing the thought.
• Dont forget most of the rampant collection are being done by unions and councils and all sort of organizations that are not allowed to actually collect tax. Even the municipalities are not allowed to collect tax, but they are collecting like nobody's business. For heave sake even NGOs are collecting tax. How many Unions are there in Dimapur alone collecting tax. There are almost around 90 identified organizations (unions, associations, etc) collecting tax. The problem of tax collection needs to be studied carefully. Its not the underground groups alone collecting tax. In fact its the various NGOs, Unions, Association, municipalities, etc which are collecting tax rampantly and bringing a bad image to the Naga underground and to the people of Nagaland as well. The government and the underground should get together to clean up all these illegal organizations that are collecting tax illegally.
• Yes.. If its not hindering development wat is it doing?? Thats their sole purpose.. Gud job there, 'tax collectors'!!!
• YES X100000000000....TIMES, and it doesn't need to be elaborated because every citizen knows what needs to be done. AND I DOUBT 90% that MEX won't publish this poll and even if MEX do...they'll start getting warning letters from the UG (No.1 tax collectors)
• Let us be honest this tax collection is really alienating the Naga underground factions from the people. No one is questioning the legitimacy of the Naga freedom movement. But today because of rampant tax collection, people are getting frustrated and angry. Majority of the Naga public are barely surviving, they are just meeting needs end. But they are also the ones who are taxed the most. Young Naga entrepreneurs are not able to develop because they are burdened with tax. Also most of the underground groups do not have a organized tax collection system. So much of the money collected is being eaten up at the lower level. Something needs to be done immediately.
• That's the reason why we don't get investments from big multinational companies and the employment and development associated with it. Who will like to invest and start a business venture when they have to cope with demands and taxes from various so called national workers (always increasing in no. too!). Always wonder what the so called 'national workers' do with our hard earned money..... will like to challenge them to show to the public what they have done with the money collected, apart from funding their opulent lifestyles. Can they give us a yearly report on what achievements or development they have done for the Nagas, apart from buying bullets and guns to kill his fellow Naga brothers?
• Yes, because it is so.
• Yes! Collection of illegal taxes by the undergrounds has greatly impacted our development. Nagas will be much better off without the so called national workers. Not independence, nor sovereignty, give us peace and development.
• In answer to this poll question is simply self-explanatory for any Naga in the street why all the requisite infrastructures needed for the holistic developments and progress of Nagaland moves at a snails pace. The prevailing rampant collection if illegal tax is no less than the robbery taking place audaciously in broad day and besides its twin evil: corruption which the common practices at all levels of Govt., bureaucracy, civil societies etc have become a brazenly open secret is one of the root causes of all the bottlenecks and impediments preventing Nagaland from its overall progress and development at a right pace. Corruption is a global phenomenon and it isn’t hard for me to imagine that only a few Nagas in a million may be immune from it but this prevalent unlawful imposition of illegal taxes must be branded as an ever-mushrooming cottage industry with the grudging grassroots nagas have long been acutely bearing the brunt of these notorious taxes, to put it mildly. Besides and above all, what concerns me most as being a hard working young Naga on what kind of dubious reputations or perceptions this state of affairs in the current scenario is creating in the much needed business-friendly environment of the state and on the mind of those prospective industrialists, investors, technology know-hows, etc. My humble message to GOI is: we the Nagas aren’t only unique and talented by adaptable and innovative in many spheres of life which can contribute much to the country at large and that state in particular; thus, bringing an end to the protracted naga political issue at the earliest will certainly pave the way for the well-rounded infrastructural development of the state and bring smile on the pale faces earning their living by the sweat of their brows is the wish.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• Not necessarily. Tax has become a way of life for Nagas. In the past Nagas used to donate tax to the NNC and likewise to the many groups now. The problem is there are just too many factions and this is why people are getting tired of paying too much tax to too many factions. The truth however is if Nagas are to become an entity, the people have to pay tax. All other states are paying tax to the government. In countries like the US the citizens are paying close to 60% as tax. But the government in return is doing a lot of things for the people. Whereas in the case, the governments that we are paying tax to are not doing anything for the people. Rather they are pocketing it for their own benefit. So the idea of giving tax is not wrong, but what is wrong is the way the tax is being misused and the fact that they are not doing anything for the people. I think the Naga people must not make the collection of tax an issue. Citizens all over the world are paying tax. What is more important is that the Naga people must hold accountable our so-called national workers for the tax they are collecting in the name of the Naga cause. We citizens must question what they are doing with the tax and what they are doing for the people. Let us not confuse the issue. The problem is not the tax, the problem is they are not doing anything worthy with the tax they are collecting. And also in between they are many people collecting tax in the name of this group and that group. They should be caught and given a befitting punishment.
• No, because nagaland receives excise from businessmen as a means of permission. Otherwise they (businessmen) will come and exploit us.
• No, the levying of tax is not the source of all problems. It is the result of a much deeper and complex political issue. To address the tax and extortion, the core problem must be solved.
• We all need to pay tax to a legitimate government. Its a shame for Nagas that we are living off other peoples tax. Do you know that since Nagas dont pay tax to the government, the Indian government sends the tax of other states to Nagaland. What a shame.
• I don’t oppose paying tax. In the beginning there was only one group, but today there are so many groups. How can I pay to so many groups. So the Naga groups should unite together and than the people will not hesitate to give tax, provided it is used for the purpose of the Naga cause. The presence of so many Naga groups have also allowed many illegal organizations to start collecting tax in one guise or the other. These illegal organizations are actually the worst and are the ones responsible for creating a bad name for the Nagas. The Naga underground groups should get together and get rid of these illegal organizations that are collecting tax in the name of the Nagas.
• Which country does not pay tax to their own government?
• Because they need it, to strengthen in every field of freedom of NAGA, but money is to used wisely and genuinely for the cause of Naga.
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• The issue of collection of tax will be there as long as the Indo-Naga-Myanmar political problem is not solved. The rampant collection of tax is a result of the ongoing political imbroglio. Just trying to get rid of rampant illegal tax collection will not solve the problem because it will rear its ugly head in one form or the other. The solution actually lies in solving the political problem. After that Nagas can create their own taxation system where the Naga citizens will pay tax to a democratically elected people.
• Tax- collectors should change their professions. They should work to live, instead of being a parasite in the society. They are such pain in the neck hindering the overall development of the State. I wonder sometimes, whether they feel guilty @ times, maybe most of the time of robbing someone's money, earned by hard work & sweats!. Devils doesn' t come with horns, u'k, in real life!
• Well, they are minor obstacles but not The cause for under-development. I think far greater amounts are collected by corrupt politicians and officials and contractors. There is no vision in our plans because all developments are a result of foresight powered by a dogged determination to achieve the goal. If extortion, euphemistically referred to as collection of "tax", is the reason, then a reference to development in Africa is in order. Of late, African countries have seen an upsurge in economic fortunes, thanks to foreign investments in core infrastructural sectors like road, railway, shipping and mining. China has beaten every other country in quietly but surely putting a stamp in African development. This they did after surmounting huge hurdles like extortion, sectarian violence and corrupt leadership. Point is, even their corrupt leaders had the vision to lure, woo and seal deals with investors.
• Is Nagaland even developing? That's news.
• First, point out the developmental activities undertaken in recent years. Government is free from extortion and "tax payment" to our unrecognized national fighters, nor does it provide safe ground for private players.
• Believe u me, govt isn't free from extortion
• Taxes are paid by every individual directly or indirectly to the govt. which is needed to pay but some taxes are extracted from us which cause heartache and leads to hatred towards the over/under govt, and this taxes need to be stop if govt wants peace and harmony among us. DEVELOPMENT?? no way! still blind.
• Tax…! What is govt or NGOs watching? What “shops (Dokandar X) are taxing the public everyday on everything.” Who cares? Do you, the copX, or the add….t..f’X does? Or are we too rich, or too foolish to notice all this taxing…?!
