by Man from Baker Hill
I am not concerned about the dictionary meaning of the word…nationalism.
For me, nationalism is about understanding how to build a nation called Montserrat on fairness and equity; it is to want every Montserratians to stand out… to do well. Nationalism is that each of us must pay his fair share of income tax to Montserrat.
Nationalism is to enhance our environment so that each of us can act out his or her role on Montserrat in goodness, safety and love. It is also about Montserrat… character building, understanding, education, partnerships and leadership.
Nationalism is more about understanding the purpose of living on Montserrat… than to seek to get from Montserrat the most of the means to live. In other words we must not confuse having plenty money with the purpose of living.
Montserratians must love and believe in goodness, the law of God; so that in carrying out their adopted or agreed-to roles, goodness would seem to flow from their words and actions. They must engage one another in conversations about character building, partnerships and how to prepare the next generation to pay income tax in order to guarantee their future. This too seriously, is nationalism!
Yes, by example, we must stand tall in the classroom named Montserrat and be able to educate, motivate one another so as create a culture of cleverness in each one of us; i.e., we must show willingness to pay and tell of the usefulness to pay income tax.
Nationalism is also to preach and teach what makes a nation a nation. It is to understand how to create and build a nation. It is to understand the means from which a nation is built. It is to know that one of the means to build a nation is money and that a nation’s money in modern times can only arrive on the ships and planes of taxation, ours or some other nation. Yes taxation!
Opponents of Nationalism, if there are any, must understand that taxation is the essence of nation building and its preservation. They must be reminded, at all times, that it is through a system of tax laws that Montserrat will grow, maintain itself, develop and take its place on earth.
It is not my intention in this article to explain the meaning of a system of tax laws…
But let it be understood that it … the system of tax laws… also includes royalties from sand mining and geothermal energy, fees, fines, the sale of postage stamps, a portion of the revenues from the Port Authority and the utility company MUL.
It is therefore imperative that Montserratian men and women understand their country’s system of tax laws and they must obey it in word and deed. They must teach it by example so that Montserratians will become a respectful people, each of us paying no less than his fair share of taxes.
A few ‘good men and women’ is all it takes to carry our nation away from passive or vacant ignorance and the ridicule of onlookers. Our behaviour must not allow onlookers to laugh at Montserrat. No, they must never think that we sit vacantly, rocking under the money tree waiting for lady bird Britain to send us their tax dollars to prop us up through Montserrat Development Corporation (MDC)
I am a nationalist. I want to see Montserrat and every Montserratian stand out and do well; but I expect each of us to pay our fair share of income tax, every time.
Presently I am looking at the MDC Little Bay Project supported by DFID with many pieces of equipment being engaged on the project. Maybe $25 million will be spent on this project. And I wonder how much income tax will be deducted from payments to these equipment owners. We must not forget the embarrassment of our TAX ARREARS situation. Certainly, not less than 20% should be deducted from every payment; and if not, then our system of tax laws needs revising.
Consider this, what nation that needs to drag itself upwards and outwards could afford to say to its citizens…you must put at least $15,000.00 in your pockets each year before you make a direct contribution to the nation’s healthcare, or your school children education, or police protection, or the maintenance of the roads we walk and drive on? Nationalism… must provide the answer to that question!
Again, I am a nationalist. I want Montserrat to stand out, to do for self as much as it can. And I believe that the only way we can begin to achieve that…is to have our own money. I believe that money is a means to achieve the ultimate purpose of a nation. And I believe that a nation’s money must be gotten mostly from taxation. I also believe that taxation is the most important source of every nation’s money and that taxation is the essence of nation building. We must collect our taxes!
But in the meantime, men and women of Montserrat must seek to understand goodness, the law of nature and God; … and they must lead by example; boldly paying income tax while carrying the torch of nationalism.
It is Nationalism and taxation, belief in our ability to do for self, motivation and faith in the law of goodness that will work miracles for Montserrat.
Clearly, Montserratians must begin to think seriously about our Laws of Taxation. We must seek to understand and to participate fully in these necessary laws. We must also live by example; so that our experiences will be virtual classrooms, especially in the area of income tax. This too is nationalism.
