LETTER: Tax revolt not a wise move
Helen Zille's call for citizens to take action in this way will polarise society further
Twitter has been awash with comments on a possible tax revolt. It’s an old debate, brought to the fore by a tweet from the premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille. Not everyone agrees. I come from a family steeped in civil disobedience — from early Gandhian days through the passive resistance of the 1940s, and the Defiance Campaign of the 1950s. Many in my family have initiated and participated in campaigns, and served terms in jail for their actions. These influenced, and contributed, over time, to securing the freedoms we enjoy today. Nelson Mandela subscribed to it, and Martin Luther King Jr applied the same. The current call is different. It is moreover impractical, will have unintended consequences in the unlikely event of being implemented, and will polarise society further. Also, you can’t cherry-pick areas of noncompliance that are predicated on a bundled buy-in to representative government and institutions — taxation and representative government have been inextricably lin...
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