“Let me tell you how it will be

There's one for you, nineteen for me

Should five percent appear too small

Be thankful I don't take it all.”

COMMENT | So sang the late great Beatle George Harrison in the satirical social commentary that was Taxman, a biting tune in the group’s 1966 album Revolver.

This particular oeuvre was running through my mind about six months ago as I experienced a multi-part and quite painful interaction with Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri.

To be fair I was mainly to blame as there were years for which I had paid tax but not filed, and I suddenly needed it cleared for Mutual Separation Scheme (MSS) purposes.

So what if I was still paying off my student loan, had invested in an apartment that was stalled in development for nine years and my family had spent more than RM200,000 on medical bills for a loved one who needed five heart-related surgeries.

And yes, even knowing that the benefits of tax revenue are slanted racially and my family will only be receiving a fraction of the goodies many fellow citizens do - well even that wasn’t the most annoying factor.

What really annoyed me was being told by a financial journalist that I was part of less 20 percent of eligible Malaysians paying taxes. That’s because I have always worked at companies that instantly deduct and declare...