Editor,

RE: "Timber dealers call for review of value added tax regulation” (The New Times, May 27).

I don't understand; isn't VAT levied on imported furniture as well, in addition (if they do not meet the rules of origin applicable to countries with whom Rwanda has duty-free trade relations) to import and customs duties that are imposed on a CIF basis? Why then do our timber and timber products dealers and traders believe they should be exempt? Do they understand that when they don't pay their contribution, someone else is going to have to pay even more if the state is going to be able to meet its revenue targets and provide the essential services that we all demand from it?

Heck, none of us like taxes; but they are a necessary evil. Instead of seeing them as money out of your pocket, look at them as that security you enjoy, that road your business needs to operate, that school your child goes to, the hospital your family members visit whenever they are sick, the courts we need to adjudicate conflicts that necessarily arise among communities. It is primarily our taxes that make all that possible. Businesses, more than anybody else, depend on public services to operate. They should be prepared and happy to pay their fair share to make those services available.

MweneKalinda