Black Tax

I know them kids won’t get this but please don’t imaging a buff navy-black Nigerian dude walking with a bull dog and a baseball bat, knocking on your front door screaming “fool, where’s my money” when you hear that term.

Let me help you there, I want you to go deep down in your heart… Don’t go too deep, I know down there is where them un-forgiveness skeletons stay… So come up a lil bit, jah right there… You see those people?? The ones you love… Your family and friends… Those are the people you should think about when you here the term “black tax”, I know it’s hard to believe it, but do, because it exists and it’s out there, what matters is how affected you are by it and your attitude towards it.

Before I go on: I KNOW THIS TOPIC IS A SLIPPERY SLOPE AND A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE BUT I’LL TAKE A SLAM AT IT ANYWAY!!!

Let’s try and define this “black-Tax”

There is an article I saw on the Mail and Guardian’s website, the man described black tax as being the meat of the sandwich, the article says the individuals, ranging in age from their early 20s to their 50s, are often stuck in the middle of supporting two generations financially and are therefore unable to save adequately for their own needs and retirement.

A book I read a few weeks back defined as having “takers” in your family. It described the victims of black tax as “cash-cows”. Your family milks you, not when they ask you for necessary things but when they as you for “wants”, e.g your unemployed brother will ask you for a pair of ‘White All-Star’ instead of asking for a pair of shoes. Now the “takers” where described as people who will never contribute to anything, whether they are employed or not, their hand s are always open to receive.

Someone described it as being taken advantage of. Family members that make you feel like you owe them, even though they never invested in your future. Just because you made it, you have to help them because they are still at the bottom [reasons why they are at the bottom are not to be discussed in this piece]. Hey “investing” doesn't necessary mean monetary value, maybe your aunt used to say to you “leave the dishes, I’ll do them for you, go study or rest” “where is your uniform, I’ll wash it for you, go do your homework” “your jersey is torn a bit, let me sew it up before it gets worse”, maybe your uncle of older brother would say “if you want to go to school at night for evening classes/study groups, don’t worry I’ll walk you”. Those people didn't cough out a cent but have contributed to your success in a way.

Well the good but unfortunate side of “black-tax” is your family obligations. When you are the only one who is employed in your household and have to take care of the household, basically be the bread winner. As an example, if you have an unemployed brother, his two children and his girlfriend’s two children; three unemployed cousins with three children; an unemployed aunt and her three children; and her grandmother, who receives a government pension, you automatically have to assist your grandmother in keeping the household afloat. So basically you are assisting at home with their NEEDS, when you do this it is a good deed, but… (Personal preference)…

I have noticed something in my social circles, “black-tax” becomes a problem when you have people and friends around you who do not pay it, whether they don’t give a shit about their families or their families are well off without their support, point is, 100% of their salaries goes to them (bonuses included). You only have a problem with it because you are comparing yourself to them, you see yourself as a failure because your “success” [nice clothes, nice car, nice place] is happening at a slower rate than theirs. Examples: They buy shoes at Spitz, you still go to Beaver canoe. They wear Kurt Geiger and you still wear Relay and Cignal. They driving a G7 and you still have your first Polo, the examples are endless, the point you develop a sense of Peer Pressure. Then when you analyse yourself and finances, you discover that the reason you are not moving as fast as them is because you budget is strained by your family.

People we have to accept that we are not the same, a few years back I heard a black Xhosa chick who has been working for two years complaining that life is about to get tough for her, when I ask why, she said her parents said they are cutting her funding off in in two months. So for two years, this chick was employed and still had a monthly allowance from her parents, that was the point in my life learned Life is unfair, we just have to accept it and stop trying to compete with one another, our backgrounds are totally different. So is our responsibilities, challenges and goals. LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE…

Most of the youth I engaged with agrees that “Black-Tax” should be some sort of #PayBackTheMoney kind(a) deal. Basically if your parents [household] went through hell to put you through school, YOU OWE THEM. If your dad had to drink one bottle of whiskey instead of four a month, YOU OWE THEM. If your mom had to stop buying Pres-les, Avon, Tupperware, etc. YOU OWE THEM. If your younger siblings had to lose the small pleasures of life such as nice clothes (All Star, Air Max, etc.), good food (Spur, meat, ice cream, etc.), camping trips, etc. YOU OWE THEM. If this all happened because most of the family funds were channelled to you so you could get through school. YOU OWE THEM. Those who didn’t have bursaries and were “too rich for NSFAS’ know what I am talking about, the struggle of university. University is f*cken expensive… I know some brats will say, “You didn’t bring yourself into this world, so it was their responsibility to do all that”, mmmh, that’s very sad shame.

I don’t know about other regions, but from where I am from, it was back in the days when “it took a village to raise child”. I don’t know what is going on now, I have noticed that “it’s everyman, well household in this case, for themselves”. Haike when it comes to being jealous of each other’s success and sabotaging it, my black community excels.

The article that was in the Mail and Guardian went on and said:

They [the youth] can, however, benefit from drives to encourage entrepreneurship. “We need more entrepreneurship opportunities to teach people that a job is not the only way of accumulating wealth,” Mwandiambira says. “We need to educate people on creating wealth.” Mwandiambira says that some black families live beyond their means. “This is a result of blacks playing catch-up to their white counterparts who benefited in many instances from apartheid, and still benefit from corporate managers who pay white graduates more than blacks. Lifestyle observations of black colleagues and their white counterparts suggest a difference in earnings.”— Gerald Mwandiambira, Acting CEO of the South African Savings InstituteAnd now that I think about it, even Whites or the Elite if I can put it gently and inclusive, complain about “black-tax”, because the TAX SARS takes from their incomes, whether businesses or salaries, is mostly used to support Black communities… hahahahahaha, sisonke kule weyi…

Anyway… Hey, on a serious note, the stories people tell about their black tax situations are very painful and no laughing matter, sometimes I end up asking myself how does this person survive??? Some people are very kind and strong willed, 0% selfishness. Do know see them as fools because they chose to ride and die with their family, if you chose to fund only your life, that’s fine too, it’s your choice, like LIVE YOUR LIFE…

Check out a few from this Link [M&G]